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A Russian paratrooper in the Ukraine war has detailed the “filth, hunger and sweat” he and his comrades suffered in the first two months on the frontlines, adding that the unhealthy conditions are pushing most soldiers to find ways to end their contracts.
In a memoir, “Zov” (Call), that was published in August, 33-year-old Pavel Filatyev, who served with the Russian military’s 56th Airborne Regiment, said most Russian soldiers deployed to the war in Ukraine are hungry, dirty and demoralized due to a lack of supplies.
“[The first] two months of filth, hunger, sweat, and the feeling of being next to death. It’s too bad that they don’t allow reporters to us in the frontlines, since the entire country could then admire the hairy paratroopers, dirty, filthy, thin,” he wrote in the 141-page memoir posted on Russia’s social media platform Vkontakte, as translated by The Hill. “An atmosphere of apathy rules over the contract soldiers, 90 percent of whom discuss ways to end their contracts as soon as possible.”
Filatyev also said some of his comrades preferred to wear the uniforms of the Ukrainian military because “they were of better quality and comfort,” adding that half of the soldiers in their unit were wearing worn-out gear “since our great country was unable to dress, equip and feed” them.
The paratrooper’s memoir also details what he and his unit went through on a daily basis when they were deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine. Filatyev was pulled out of the conflict when he sustained injuries and suffered from an eye infection.
Filatyev’s memoir is by far the most detailed, voluntary account of a Russian soldier who participated in the war in Ukraine.
Following the publication of his memoir, Filatyev said he was kidnapped and interrogated by special-ops agents for eight hours but was released after 16 hours of detention. He said the men did not show him any ID, but added that they were not members of Russia’s police force. The incident was first reported by human rights group Gulagu.net, which was translated by the Business Insider. Filatyev has since fled Russia and is currently residing in an undisclosed location in Europe.
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