Caught in the crossfire: Confessions of a dissatisfied Russian soldier facing the Ukrainian front on his own

Among Vladimir Putin's soldiers, one shared his battlefield experiences on Telegram. For many, Telegram is often their only connection to the outside world, their loved ones, and their previous normality. The authorities do their best to monitor what is written carefully and by whom, but are not always successful in censoring the soldiers' comments. These soldiers exhibit fatigue, bitterness, and a dwindling sense of hope.

The soldier described one of the attacks he participated in. "I was under fire from both the enemy and our artillery. I waited for the command to engage, but it never came," he confessed. Consequently, the soldiers took the initiative to advance so as not to be left vulnerable to further shelling at their shelter.

The engagement was over quickly. The machine gun of one of the soldiers malfunctioned after the initial shot. "We fired both our own and captured Ukrainian ammunition found nearby. Eventually, everything descended into disarray and utter chaos, and we were pinned down," the Russian soldier reported.

The soldiers are exhausted, inadequately equipped, and demoralized. The Russians have lost more than 90 percent of their initial troops prepared for the invasion of Ukraine, which has negatively impacted their operations. New units are hastily assembled, often receiving only two weeks of training, and are poorly equipped.

"It's the same every day, five times over...," the dissatisfied soldier wrote.

The attached post photograph portrays several soldiers perched in a Ural military truck. "This is a terrifying image. It shows all that remains of two companies riding in one Ural; a mere two dozen men out of the originally two hundred," the Russian soldier wrote.