A Russian prisoner of war stated that convicts are being sent to the front lines without any training
Eldar Shakirov, a former prisoner who was captured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated that the Russian command is sending convicts to the front lines without proper training and treating them as expendable.
According to 56-year-old Shakirov, who was serving a sentence for murder, he was offered a contract with the Russian army while in prison. He claims that even people with serious illnesses were recruited into the army, and just two days after arriving at the front, he was transferred to a reconnaissance unit without any training.
The prisoner also stated that commanders confiscated the soldiers’ bank cards along with their PIN codes, and during their first deployment to the front lines, they were given someone else’s phone without internet access and ordered only to turn on geolocation.
Shakirov said that on the way to the front lines, he saw a large number of bodies of dead Russian soldiers that had not been evacuated; he also reported that, along with his comrades, he spent two days without sufficient water or food while under attack by Ukrainian drones.
According to him, commanders regularly insulted their subordinates and treated them with contempt. Ultimately, Shakirov claims, he decided to surrender to Ukrainian forces, and while in captivity, he experienced a different treatment than what Russian propaganda had portrayed.
This was reported by the Command of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which released a video containing his testimony.
As a reminder, a Russian soldier with the call sign “Belarus,” who was captured by fighters of the 79th Separate Airborne Assault Tavriya Brigade in the Oleksandrivka sector, spoke about a conflict with his own commander. According to him, he subsequently committed murder and attempted to cover up the crime.
Brezhnev’s great-grandson explained why he ended up fighting in the war against Ukraine.
