Russia accused of executing its own soldiers
The White House on Thursday said Russia is executing soldiers who have failed to follow orders and threatening entire units with death if they retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire.
It's a development that U.S. national security officials believe reflects Russia's morale problems 20 months into its grinding invasion of Ukraine, said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“It’s reprehensible to think about that you would execute your own soldiers because they didn’t want to follow orders and now threatening to execute entire units, it’s barbaric," Kirby told reporters. “But I think it’s a symptom of how poorly Russia’s military leaders know they’re doing and how bad they have handled this from a military perspective.”
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The Wagner Group military contractor was reported to have had a practice of executing those who fled. The contract soldiers were pulled out of Ukraine after their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, mounted an armed rebellion in June. There also have been reports, including from the British Defense Ministry, that the regular Russian military has deployed “barrier troops” that threaten to shoot any deserters.
“They are in such desperate need to make some kind of progress, particularly in the Donbas, the Donetsk areas, that they are literally throwing young men into the fight who haven’t been properly trained, haven’t been properly equipped, and certainly are not being properly led,” Kirby said.
This is happening after Russia has lost many of its original troops and has been desperate to find men to throw into the battle.
See, also:
Ukraine says it created a whole battalion from Russians who signed up to fight their own country
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