A Russian soldier in a phone call with his wife has suggested Moscow’s forces are suffering enormous losses on the frontline, telling her not to believe what she sees being reported on the TV news.
In the intercepted phone call, published by Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR), the soldier says: "The losses have been huge lately, and very few of us are left, yet they continue to send us to dangerous positions.
"And they can't do anything about it, we can't do anything, the command are idiots.
"F**k, they literally f**k us up here... soon they'll kill us all here."
The soldier also complains about being very badly equipped and running out of ammunition: "This is not the second army in the world anymore. After Ukropia (Ukraine) it is already the third.”
He adds that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are waging a fierce fight, and they are very well-equipped and prepared.
"Ukrainians are putting up a strong fight, and they are well-equipped. And we have nothing. What is being told on TV is generally nonsense. It's better not to turn it on at all."
While the exact date of the intercepted call is not known, the situation for soldiers on both sides is difficult as Ukraine wages its summer offensive.
Ukraine’s grinding offensive is slowly gaining ground at the price of a continuous flow of dead and wounded.
Soldiers told Kyiv Post they will fight on but morale is suffering with no quick end in sight.
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 2, 2024
But the ongoing release of these intercepted conversations by Ukraine's intelligence services gives an indication of the dire conditions Russia's military finds itself in, with apparently far lower morale than their Ukrainian counterparts.
The UK’s defense minister this week claimed a quarter of a million Russian troops have been killed, injured or gone missing since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In another intercepted call, published on July 19, a Russian soldier told his wife he was so angry about not being paid that he swore at his superiors and told them he was “against the authorities.”
"Yes, my home is Russia. I live here. But my family is starving, and I am simply unable to provide for our child's school needs."
He adds: "I said ‘f••k you all!’ Like that. Yes, I said that I am against the authorities.”
In response, his wife laments about having no money and being unable to provide for their daughter's needs
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