Kathrine Frich
Life on the front line is relentless, cold, wet and spent almost entirely in trenches under constant threat.
Soldiers rely on basic rations to get through each day, and even those are not always guaranteed to arrive.
In such conditions, survival can quickly become a daily struggle.
Intelligence allegations
According to The Sunday Times and Digi24, Ukrainian military intelligence says it has gathered evidence suggesting isolated cases of cannibalism among Russian troops.
The material reportedly includes intercepted audio messages and images obtained via Telegram, though the outlet noted it could not independently confirm the claims.
A Ukrainian source said there were at least several cases in which soldiers allegedly consumed fellow troops.
Reported incidents
One of the most detailed accounts involves a soldier identified by the call sign “Khromoy.”
In an intercepted message, an officer described the situation: “In short, one comrade killed the other two and tried… he cut off one of their legs and was already trying to eat one of them.”
The same voice recording added: “Finally, today they went and found the place where he had taken them to the basement, cut off one of their legs and already, using a meat grinder or something like that, he was sitting there, spinning it, trying to eat it… He opened fire on them when they came to see what he was doing. They killed him.”
Another response in the exchange questioned the conditions: “They are not fed or what? I don’t understand.”
The reply warned of worsening conditions: “And ours will soon start eating each other… All the guys are weak. Everyone is getting reduced rations.”
Other accounts
Additional intercepted messages referenced separate incidents.
In one case, a soldier complained: “If he were a man, he could have stayed here as long as he wanted, but he ate a corpse, human flesh.”
He added: “I am a Muslim. I don’t want someone like him to enter my shelter.”
In another exchange, a commander reportedly confronted a subordinate, saying: “If you had told me something, I would have told you where to go, where to get meat,” before adding: “Why the hell are you eating khokholi… Stop eating people, damn it.”
A further message circulated among troops included the order: “No alcohol! No drugs! No traveling without identity documents! No cannibalism!”
Disputed claims
Russia has dismissed such reports as false. A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in London said: “What you have described are fabrications provided by Ukrainian military intelligence — an institution whose function is to produce propaganda, not to collect facts.”
Experts note that claims of cannibalism have historically appeared in wartime narratives and are often difficult to verify.
Sources: The Sunday Times, Ukrainian military intelligence, Digi24.
