Cruel punishment for Russian soldiers who no longer fight for Putin

Cruel punishment for Russian soldiers who no longer fight for Putin

in Ukraine, Russia's soldiers carry out a cruel practice that they describe as a victim to Baba Yaga, a terrifying witch from the Slavic folklore. Videos show how a Russian soldier is bound to a tree and left to its fate-possibly death by one of the great attack drones in Ukraine. A intercepted radio discussion shows that a Russian commander orders a subordinate to punish a deserter in this way.

horrific methods on the battlefield

"hide it somewhere (as long as the fights continue) and then take it out and tie it to a tree ... in the next half hour," says the commander in the radio discussion. Munin, a Ukrainian drone battalion commander, reports that he observed similar incidents and noticed many more through radio. "Every great Ukrainian drone calls them Baba Yaga. It spreads terrible panic among the injured soldiers. For them, it is a creepy myth that comes and kills everyone," says Munin in an interview.

reality in the Russian military

With the slow but apparently unstoppable push of the Moscow troops to Ukraine, the videos show a dark picture of life in Putin's army - from which tens of thousands of Russian men have fled since the beginning of the large -scale invasion in 2022. In one of the videos that was apparently recorded last winter, a man who is tied to a tree can be seen. He reports that he comes from Kamensk-Uralsky and fled his position after he was frightened by a Ukrainian drone.

appeal to the president

In the social network Telegram, numerous soldiers ask for help under great pressure. Einvideo shows the man called Yuri Duryagin, who appeals to Putin directly and complains that his unit in Donbass only survived a certain attack. "I received less than a fifth of my salary, but my superiors say it would be a waste of time to complain," explains Duryagin.

caught by violence

"Violence is what the Russian army holds together," says Grigory Sverdlin, founder of "Get Lost", an organization that helps Russian men to be deserted or avoiding the call. Sverdlin speaks of around 1,700 people who have supported his organization since the beginning of the invasion, whereby the total number of desertion could go into the tens of thousands. "For Russian officers, the loss of a tank is worse than the loss of 10 or 20 soldiers," he reports.

The punishment for desertion

Desertors threaten up to 15 years in prison in Russia. However, the videos spread on social media show that arbitrary punishments are also widespread. In a video, a man shows a large metal container and says: "Time to feed the animals! Those who have tried to cut away!" Three men are caught in underwear. Another video shows a man who is crouching on the ground again and again.

moral crisis in the Russian army

While the Ukrainian military also has to struggle with moral crises and deserts, it can be seen that the feeling of fighting for a just cause for the Ukraine soldiers is far more pronounced. Sverdlin summarizes the most common statements he hears from Russian soldiers: "I don't want to die here, but the most common words are: it is not my war, I don't understand what we do here."