Kathrine Frich
They planned to reach out to a senior commander about their dangerous frontline assignments.
War takes a heavy toll on the people sent to fight it.
Behind the grand political speeches, life on the front lines often reveals a darker reality.
Sometimes, the worst treatment comes from inside a soldier’s own camp.
Punished for complaining
Disturbing new video footage appears to show Russian commanders dealing out brutal punishment to their own troops. The unverified clip reveals two soldiers stripped down to their underwear.
Their hands are tied high above their heads. An officer stands in front of them and repeatedly hits the men with a stick.
According to the Daily Mail, the soldiers desperately wanted to file a formal complaint. Apparently, they planned to reach out to a senior commander named Moskayev about their dangerous frontline assignments.
Ukrainian military commentator Yuriy Butusov claimed the soldiers “flatly refused to participate in suicidal assaults and to die for Putin’s agenda”. In the released video, the angry officer yells, “Have you decided to file a complaint against Moskayev? You don’t want to go anywhere, do you?”
A pattern of abuse
This is not the first time extreme disciplinary measures have surfaced online. Similar clips routinely appear on the Telegram messaging app.
Just a few months ago, another video showed a soldier tightly wrapped in plastic cling film. His unit had strung him upside down from a tree.
A commander repeatedly slapped that suspended soldier across the face. In the background, other troops laughed and cheered while the victim groaned in pain.
Hitting the fuel supply
While Russian officers punish their men, the wider conflict continues at sea. Ukraine recently shifted its focus toward enemy supply lines.
Overnight, Ukrainian sea drones struck 19 Russian vessels in the Azov Sea. According to military updates, the massive operation successfully took out 17 oil carriers and two gas transport ships.
This sudden strategy shift caught Russian forces completely off guard. Over the past ten days, Ukrainian forces have hit up to 136 ships.
Missiles rain down
The Kremlin quickly responded to the naval losses. Russian forces launched heavy missile attacks against port facilities in southern Ukraine.
The strikes killed at least three people in Odesa. The Russian defence ministry stated they targeted fuel storage tanks and drone factories at the ports.
“In addition, four naval vessels delivering cargo for the Ukrainian Armed Forces were hit,” the Russian defence ministry reported.
Sources: Daily Mail, Telegram, Russian defence ministry
