Corruption Crippling the Russian Army.

Horrifying Accounts from Russian Soldiers at the Front

The Telegraph today published verified statements from Russian soldiers about what they had to pay their superiors to avoid suicide attacks on Ukrainian forces.

And how they sometimes had to pay to be sent to hospital or simply to the nearest medical facility.

The soldiers also told how their superiors sold stolen weapons and other military equipment to the soldiers or on the black market.

Soldiers pay the equivalent of £10,000 to £30,000 to avoid serving at the front.

If the soldier refuses to pay, he is sent on “reset” operations - a euphemism for sending him to his death. The soldier, Denis Kolesnikov, says that half of his unit has died on “reset” operations.

Armen Ovensepyan was forced to hand over half his monthly salary

Such abuses are widespread and systematic in the Russian army, Olesia Horiainova reports.

Russian soldiers are being threatened to pay part of their salaries for “unit support”. Amounts that end up in the pockets of their superiors.

Superiors also steal drones, electronics and other weapons, which they force soldiers to buy with their salaries.

Other superiors fail to report fallen and missing, which means that units are missing the soldiers called “dead souls”. That is, missing and dead soldiers who are listed as present in the reports.

There are also examples of soldiers having to pay to be sent to primary medical centers or hospitals, according to Igor Korshunov.

Andrei Perevozchikov has appealed directly to Putin in footage shared online. So did the father of Valery Beloglazov, who served in unit number 67899.

All this destroys the already minimal motivation to fight.