Russian military fed up with ‘Old Nutjob’ Putin punished in ‘Court’

A Russian soldier sent to conduct Vladimir Putin’s bid in Ukraine has been caught calling the Russian leader an “old bastard” and talking rubbish about his war, while others said that the military leadership of the Kremlin sent a general to ruthlessly put disloyal troops in line.

That’s according to Ukrainian intelligence, which on Thursday released two audio recordings of what it said were intercepted calls that capture the rapidly declining morale of Russian soldiers.

In the first recording, shared by the Main Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, a young man identified as a Russian soldier can hear a female friend venting to a female friend about Putin’s speech at the Victory Day parade on May 9.

Calling Putin’s speech “raw,” his friend said that “after the parade she was “shaking all day”.

“Then what do you want, he’s an old bastard,” the man replied, before mockingly saying, “Yes, take the Soviet Union, damn it, Lithuania, Latvia, damn Estonia, everything Non-Russian, take it back.”

As the couple debunked a list of territories they said Russia might try to seize, when they arrived in Belarus – which the woman said would be ready to join Russia “as soon as Putin needed it” – the man he said, “let them in. then, what the hell are we rapping here for?”

In a final farewell scene after his friend said that Putin probably just didn’t want to share his “victory” in Ukraine, the soldier said “yes,” “victory,” as if we were I’m not good enough to get around here.”

Ukrainian authorities did not disclose where the purported soldier was stationed in the country, but the disdain heard in his scathing comments was echoed by other soldiers in a series of attacks. recently blocked radio media.

REUTERS

Perhaps that is why Russia’s military leadership is said to have sent a general with a reputation for brutality to send troops in line.

“Well, Muradov came and arranged a protest court,” a purported Russian soldier told his friend in what Ukraine’s Security Service said was another phone conversation between the military being hacked. block.

The general’s full name was not revealed in the recording, but the men appear to refer to Rustam Muradov, a lieutenant general and deputy commander of the Southern Military District, known for his role as superintendent. close to the fierce fighting in Syria. Muradov has also been personally sanctioned by the European Union in connection with Russia’s war against Ukraine.

According to the unnamed soldier on the recording, Muradov was sent to suppress his unit because “nobody wanted to keep moving forward”.

“The commanders did not want to lead to the deaths of their boys. The boys themselves are not ready yet. So yesterday [Muradov] Shooting the commanders dead to set an example, he undressed them, made them pull everything in their pockets, tied their hands. Then they load them in [buses] and take them away,” he said.

Ukrainian intelligence did not provide further details about when the intercepted conversation took place, or which unit the soldier belonged to.

Rumors of bored soldiers with low morale have grown exponentially since Putin launched a “special military operation” in late February, with the military regularly complaining about damaged equipment. errors and lack of leadership.

One of the Russian soldiers sent to Ukraine at the start of the invasion told Russia’s BBC that he and others had been tricked by the military leadership into believing they were only taking part in exercises, a claim. common book among militaries.

In an interview published Thursday, Sergei Bokov said he was taken to a makeshift camp along the border with Ukraine in early February under the guise of participating in exercises.

“Then they told us to let the family know we were participating in the ‘Allied-Resolve 2022’ exercise. You see, they even came up with names for the drills. But no mass drills. They tricked us beautifully, they tricked us,” he said.

He said that after more than a month of participating in the war and fighting in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, he and several others in his unit deliberately violated military rules and then refused to participate. war again.

“They didn’t even try to talk to us [quitting]because we are not the first,” he is quoted as saying.