Fighters' Fatigue Putin's Troops Go Public With Complaints

Russia's assault on Ukraine's east has brought it some battlefield success as its military has fierce fighting in Donbas.

- Andrew Roth, Pjotr Sauer

But those gains have come at a high price for the Russian invasion force, with evidence that high-level casualties are growing and that some units may be approaching exhaustion with the war now past its 100-day mark.

As the conflict drags on, some fighters have gone public with appeals to Vladimir Putin for an investigation into battlefield conditions and whether their deployments are even legal.

In two videos, fighters from Russian-controlled east Ukraine complained of poor conditions and long tours of duty at the front leading to exhaustion. "Our personnel have faced hunger and cold," said fighters from the Russian-controlled 113th regiment from Donetsk. "For a significant period, we were without any material, medical or food support."

The fighters added: "Given our continuous presence and the fact that among our personnel there are people with chronic medical issues, people with mental issues, many questions arise that are ignored by the higher-ups at headquarters."

In an interview, a Russian soldier who had fought near Kyiv, Kharkiv, and was now in eastern Ukraine, spoke of his exhaustion, saying he had even contacted a lawyer and complained that he had not seen his wife for months.

"I have been fighting in Ukraine since the start of the war, it has been over three months now," Andrei, who serves with the 37th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade headquartered in Buryatia, Siberia, told the Guardian. "It is exhausting, my whole unit wants a break, but our leadership said they can't replace us right now."