A Russian soldier has been overheard in an intercepted call describing how Moscow’s forces are suffering such huge casualties in Avdiivka that hospitals are overflowing and the wounded arrive by the truck full.

“There are a lot of people, and the wounded are being brought here by trucks literally every day,” he says in the call released by Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR).

“A lot of dead as well. I'm in a civilian hospital because the military hospital is overcrowded—three floors packed.”

“Everyone is lying without arms or legs, some without various body parts. Mainly, those from Avdiivka are brought," the soldier says.

"In Rostov hospital, guys are lying on the floor in the hallway."

Advertisement

While the authenticity of the call has not been confirmed, both Ukrainian, Russian and independent sources confirm Russia is suffering huge losses right now, with the daily rate of soldiers killed approaching an all-time high.

The soldier appears to add weight to the assessment, saying: “The assault failed. Everything is in the s**t, everyone was killed.”

Ukrainian soldiers defending the town told AFP this week that the scenes there are “like a zombie movie.”

“The fields are just littered with corpses,” said Oleksandr, a deputy commander of a Ukrainian battalion in the 47th Mechanized Brigade.

“They are trying to exhaust our lines with constant waves of attacks,” he said, without providing his full name.

Drone Wars –Technology, Tactics, Strategy, Countermeasures, Legislation
Other Topics of Interest

Drone Wars –Technology, Tactics, Strategy, Countermeasures, Legislation

The impact of unmanned vehicles in the air, on the ground, and at sea could not have been predicted five years ago but their influence on the Ukrainian battlefield released the genie from the bottle.

A drone operator with the call sign, “Trauma,” said: “Some die, others keep on coming. It’s like a zombie movie.”

Last month, a Russian soldier was overheard in a phone call to his wife describing the hellish conditions he and his unit are facing on the front lines, describing horrific losses in failed assaults on Ukrainian positions and a crippling lack of basic supplies.

The Russian military in fighting around Avdiivka likely suffered its worst combat losses since mid-February, and by some measures suffered one of Moscow’s worst battlefield defeats of the war thus far.

Advertisement

Kyiv Post recently interviewed Maria* who described what it’s like to work as one of Ukrainian Intelligence’s professional eavesdroppers and the shocking things they hear.

Russian media regularly dismisses the content of the calls, saying Ukraine is faking them, a claim Kyiv Post put to Maria.

She said: "Yes, they all are real even though they might seem insane. Sometimes I can’t believe the words I’m listening to myself, but we have what we have."

Kyiv Post regularly highlights the most revealing intercepted conversations on a weekly basis.

You can read some of them by clicking on the links below:

To suggest a correction or clarification, write to us here
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter