Kathrine Frich
As winter tightens its grip on the front, health conditions inside Russian units have deteriorated sharply.
Reports from partisan networks describe an escalating wave of sickness that is weakening combat units already strained by long deployments and supply shortages.
The latest claims point to a severe flu outbreak in Kherson, adding to growing pressure on the Kremlin over the state of its forces.
Worsening conditions
According to the military partisan movement ATESH, a “catastrophic surge” of flu and respiratory illness has struck the 127th Separate Reconnaissance Brigade and several other units in the region.
The group says soldiers have spent months living in cold, damp shelters without proper medical care or heating.
ATESH argued that commanders have ignored the deteriorating situation, instructing troops to remain in place even as temperatures fall.
Entire platoons are reportedly ending up in field hospitals only after their condition becomes critical, a point the group described as evidence of “criminal indifference.”
Illness across the front
The problems, ATESH claims, are not limited to one sector.
Shortages in warm clothing, food and medicine have been reported across multiple regions, leaving troops more vulnerable to seasonal disease.
With winter advancing, the movement warned the situation would “only get worse.”
The outbreak comes amid other setbacks for Russia’s military infrastructure.
Reports circulating this week suggested elements of the defence industry are struggling with debt, missed payments and declining output despite government incentives to keep production running.
Mounting financial strain
The Kremlin has offered financial bonuses to entice recruits to fight in Ukraine, but regional budgets are increasingly unable to meet those obligations.
In Russia’s Far East, authorities in Yakutia have halted payments to enlisted soldiers.
In a televised interview, the region’s finance minister, Ivan Alekseev, confirmed the suspension, saying: “Unfortunately, we really have this situation.”
Local officials across several regions have warned of rising debts as mobilisation payouts and wartime spending outstrip revenues, adding another challenge as Moscow tries to sustain a prolonged conflict.
Sources: ATESH, Express
