Russian troops crying in combat and refusing to obey orders as radio clips show ‘disarray’

Ukraine: Russian troops can be heard 'complaining about invasion'

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Footage by ShadowBreak Intl shows Russian troops in low morale questioning command orders and complaining about an apparent lack of supplies and food as they fight Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

In one clip, a man seemingly speaking from the command centre, asks in frustration for what appears to be supplies or fuel.

He can be heard asking: “We’ve been here for three days! When the hell is it going to be ready?”

In another clip, the same man says: “We will cover the town… with artillery fire.”

His contact on the ground appears to disobey the order and reminds the more senior officer that “the goods” — civilians — need to be withdrawn from town before opening fire.

The man in command, though sounding annoyed, accepts this.

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In a third recording, a soldier apparently in tears claims: “It’s slow, it’s slow…”

In response, the command “quickly” can be heard through the static.

The intercepted messages, first released by The Dail Telegraph, echo the disheartenment shared by Serhiy Kyslytsia, Ukraine’s envoy, at a rare UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

Mr Kyslytsia read out loud a text message a Russian soldier reportedly sent to his mother from Ukraine.

It said: “We were told we would be greeted with open arms, but they call us fascists.”

The mother, according to the ambassador, asked her son if he was still out for military drills.

He replied: “Mum, I’m in Ukraine. This is a real war. I’m scared, we’re firing at everyone, even civilians.

“The only thing I want right now is to kill myself.”

Both the dispirited audio recordings and the message align with claims by a senior US defence official assuring there is a lack of experience among Putin’s troops as they never even knew “they were going to be in combat”.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to reporters, he said on Tuesday: “You’ve seen it on the ground, where units are surrendering, sometimes without a fight.”

The official added Russian forces are showing some signs of “risk-averse behaviour”.

As Putin’s invasion of Ukraine closes its first week, the US official said forces are “regrouping and rethinking and trying to adjust to the challenges that they’ve had”.

This could explain why the 40-mile convoy of tanks and armoured vehicles seen on satellite images by Maxar Technologies near Kyiv on Monday came to a near standstill.

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As of Wednesday, on day seven of Putin’s “full-scale” assault, 5,000 Russians have been killed, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said on Twitter on Monday it would pay Russian soldiers if they willingly surrendered to Ukrainian troops.

They wrote in a statement: “We offer Russian soldiers a choice: to die in an unjust war, or full amnesty and 5 million rubles of compensation if they put down their guns and voluntarily surrender to prison.”

Meanwhile, support for Kyiv continues to be strong, with military equipment and medical supplies making their way to Eastern Europe from all corners of the world.

A Royal Australian Air Force plane is en route on Wednesday after prime minister Scott Morrison announced the country would weapons to Ukraine through NATO, supplementing nonlethal equipment and supplies.

More Stinger and Javelin missiles from abroad are underway, too, as well as another shipment of Turkish drones, the Ukrainian defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov said.

He wrote on Facebook and Telegram: “The amount of help we are receiving is increasing.

“The number of countries providing this assistance is growing. Even those for whom it was considered impossible are joining.”

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