Russia uses wounded soldiers with crutches at the forefront

Russia uses wounded soldiers with crutches at the forefront

The Russian army rewound wounded soldiers with crutches at the front and relocated severely injured soldiers in combat positions, while they fight with ever increasing personnel problems. This emerges from videos and statements that were collected by CNN.

injured soldiers in use

pictures published on the front line of Ukrainian drone operators and Russian troops show men with obvious legs, some of whom are still bandaged while they are traveling in combat areas. In several cases, Ukrainian drone flee.

recycling of the injured

"The Russians put wounded soldiers back into battle," said a western official, referring to videos that "show troops with crutches that are pushed back into the line". The commitment of injured soldiers indicates that Moscow without A broader mobilization Completed that would be unpopular among the urban middle classes of Russia, according to the official who wanted to remain anonymous.

insight into the reality of the wounded

A drone video from January, published by the 59th brigade of Ukraine, which is active in the competitive strategic area around the city of Pokrovsk, shows a Russian soldier who has a crutch under every arm and tries to look for protection. Despite the knowledge of the danger of the Ukrainian drone above him, he is slowly moving. The drone then drops a mortar grenade on it.

More videos show the forced restoration of the injured to the front. One of them shows a wounded man whose name CNN has to withhold from for security reasons. It is pulled away by men in uniforms in front of a military hospital in the southern Russian city of Jeysk, in the Krasnodar region. "What the hell do you do with me, why? I had an operation yesterday, damn ax!" He calls. He turns to the camera and adds: "I ... aim at all the residents of Russia and would like to show everyone what happens to one of our worthy soldiers in the armed forces of the Russian Federation."

inhuman conditions for soldiers

Inside the vehicle, he shows his severely injured leg, which was recently operated on and holds his wounded hand high. "I don't have a finger anymore; it was sewn yesterday. I can only go with crutches." He reports of a painful eight -hour drive on bad streets back to the front city of Luhansk. To others passengers in the vehicle, he says: "There is a pipe in my stomach," comments another man. It is unclear when the video was recorded.

Another video that was apparently published by Russian military bloggers last month shows a Russian unity - apparently from the 20th Army - in a forest, dressed in protective equipment and uniforms. The cameraman says: "This is how we go to a combat mission. It's so damn terrible!" One of the soldiers says: "I fought five times, two serious injuries and a serious brain injury." According to his statement, the hospital has only declared him suitable for unarmed missions: "Now they hang my weapons and bring me to the front without any problems. The 20th army is so shitty!"

The terrifying reality on the front

Another soldier who has to watch how wounded comrades pass by crutches, says: "You take the boys with crutches to receive the weapons, damn shit!" The unit seems to be on the way to Makiivka in order to be used there in combat, according to the soldiers.

A Ukrainian secret service representative said that they had observed a trend in the past six months, in which wounded Russian soldiers appear in “active combat areas”. He attributed the command of the wounded to attempt by commanders to disguise losses and their inability to bring soldiers in and from combat areas if necessary.

Some soldiers were able to escape a restoration. CNN spoke to a Russian soldier who was injured during the fight for Vovchansk, only treated a limited manner there and then opened for a month. When he heard that the wounded were sent back to the front, he fled from Russia. There are documents that verify his account, but the details are held back for security reasons.

"I was in the hospital for a month," he said. "And they don't remove the splinters with anyone. They only make a little ointment on it and that's it. If the wound heals something, you will be released." He said that he had recovered near Moscow in a group of amputated or those who rely on the property or on crutches, which would have the right to a month when they are healthy again.

a frightening view of military policy

"But you can't leave the unit," he said. "This is how they call the 'relaxing regiment'. They spend a month there and are then thrown back into war." He described politics as a "simple way" to reduce compensation payments for families. "You pay 3 million rubles for an injury. You send cripples back to the front ... to avoid money. If the person is missing, the family will not get any money. You need a body for evidence, and if there is no body, it's sorry, I'm sorry." Documents were also handed over

CNN, which, according to Ukrainian officials, were collected by the body of fallen Russian soldiers around Pokrovsk. Among the documents there is a medical report, which documents significant head and assault of a Russian who was sent back to battle.