More than 100 relatives of Russian mobilized soldiers have written letters appealing to Vladimir Putin to “deal with the signs of deliberate destruction” of troops fighting in the Avdiivka area, following reports that he has ordered that the city be taken before his Dec. 14 press conference.
Ukrainian intelligence sources have confirmed to the Kyiv Post that the information relating to Putin’s imposed deadline for securing the city Avdiivka in Donetsk region are accurate.
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“Yes, the maximum [time-frame for the] task is the New Year, then a press conference. They need to show some achievements,” a source in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR) said.
Since the beginning of the active phase of the offensive in November, Russian commanders have been refusing to allow wounded soldiers to leave the battlefield and to recover in the trenches. Reports have been received that within the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) wounded soldiers are being forced to participate in near-suicidal “meat-grinder assaults”.
The wife of a Russian mobilized soldier said: “On November 25, they issued another decree on the spot that light and medium wounded should be treated in the trenches. They don't spare DNRers at all: they collect the leftovers and then send them back to the assault.
“My husband says they are walking on bodies there, everything is littered with them,” she continued.
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The wife of another Russian soldier also noted that “we need some kind of result” while “everyone around us says that we will take Avdiivka, and then we will negotiate.”
According to the authors of the letter to Putin, many of Russia’s mobilized troops have been living in trenches on the front line only 700 meters from Avdiivka for more than 10 months and are constantly under bombardment and attack.
The letters also note that the “assault brigades” near Avdiivka consist of soldiers who are on average over 40 years old, most of whom have not been on leave since the start of their mobilization.
Recently, there have been many reports that Russian soldiers have refused to take part in assaults.
It is also likely that the number of Moscow’s forces now willing to surrender has increased significantly.
As a result, the Kremlin has begun to use brutal tactics against its own soldiers with reports of commanders killing their own wounded soldiers with drones to prevent them from being captured by Ukraine.
As Andriy Yusov, a HUR spokesman told the Kyiv Post: “No matter how much we hate the Russian occupiers and invaders, of course, getting Russian prisoners into Ukrainian captivity is also important to speed up the return of our [own] defenders from Russian captivity.”
For almost 2 months, since around 6 a.m. on Oct. 10, Russian troops have been conducting a series of massive attacks against Ukrainian positions in Avdiivka without making the desired breakthrough or any significant advances.
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