The Main Intelligence Directorate intercepted a conversation about threats to execute Russian soldiers
Ukrainian intelligence has released a new radio intercept from the front lines in which Russian commanders threaten their own soldiers with execution for refusing to go into battle. At the same time, some soldiers in the occupying army are abandoning their positions and fleeing, despite pressure and intimidation.
Russian soldiers on the front lines are refusing to follow their commanders’ orders and are trying to leave their positions, despite threats of severe punishment. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which released a new radio intercept from the Kupiansk sector.
According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, this involves units of the 26th Tank Regiment of the Russian Army’s 47th Tank Division. It is there that instances of soldiers fleeing their positions after refusing to go into battle have been recorded. In the intercepted conversation, the unit commander complains about subordinates who refuse to follow orders and are effectively sabotaging offensive operations. “So, ‘Pryanik’—he’s refusing. We’ve been fighting here with them since four o’clock… When asked to move forward—‘I’m not going, f*ck, I’m all sick…’,” reads the recording released by the Main Intelligence Directorate.
According to the Russian soldier, one of the soldiers with the call sign “Pryanik,” along with another fighter, left their positions and disappeared into the forest. “They’ve fucking vanished into the woods, damn it… Well, they’ve got nowhere to go; I’ll find them anyway… I was already getting ready to shoot them right here,” the commander says in the intercepted recording.
The Main Intelligence Directorate notes that cases of desertion and refusal to carry out combat orders are being recorded with increasing frequency in Russian units, despite the command’s attempts to maintain discipline through force and threats of execution. At the same time, the Main Intelligence Directorate emphasizes that Russian soldiers have the opportunity to avoid participating in combat operations if they voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender, thereby saving their lives.
