Russian Soldier Horrified by War 'Relieved' to Be Captured by Ukraine

Russian soldiers in Ukraine are lamenting their nation's war efforts and some who have been captured are actually "relieved," according to a new report.

Ukraine's current counteroffensive has been somewhat stymied in areas like Avdiivka, where Russian soldiers have poured into the industrial town located in the eastern Donetsk region since early October. New gains on the territory annexed by Russia last year were made on Tuesday, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), costing Russia several tanks and military equipment in the process.

But as Russian President Vladimir Putin has continually endorsed the Kremlin's war efforts as an affront to Western ideals, even by means of conscripting hundreds of thousands of citizens as servicemen to aid his cause, there remains no resolution or end in sight. Casualties among Russian soldiers and generals continue, military equipment is being destroyed by Ukrainian forces, and the nation's economy is bearing the brunt of the 21-month conflict.

Several Russian prisoners of war (POWs) in Avdiivka, most in their 30s and 40s, spoke to the Wall Street Journal from an undisclosed garage located in eastern Ukraine after they were captured by Ukrainian forces. The Journal reportedly confirmed their identities and withheld surnames.

One Russian soldier named Sergei, a former factory worker from Perm, near the Ural Mountains, who signed up in October for a raise from 30,000 rubles to 100,000 rubles, called the city's warfare "an animal nightmare."

He said Russian Army training was composed of tasks including picking up branches. Battlefield training involved firing two magazines' worth of ammunition from an assault rifle, in addition to first-aid lessons.

Instead of just driving trucks in the rear as he initially expected, he was on the frontlines of battle and eventually captured in mid-November in Avdiivka after he was wounded. He witnessed dead bodies strewn across the city's northern flank.

"I felt relieved," he said, adding that his family hasn't received any of the pay promised by the Kremlin. "I don't want to see this nightmare anymore."

Another Russian soldier named Pavel, formerly a machine-tool operator from Siberia, said he was among those conscripted in 2022 and had a choice to either fight or be thrown in prison.

He said his tactical training consisted of charging across a field, in the style of Soviet-era World War II movies in which troops shout "for Stalin!" On the battlefield, he said his unit's mission resulted in copious amounts of dead soldiers.

"The captain said we fulfilled our goal," Pavel told the Journal, blaming commanders for a lack of proper training. "But how can you say that if only 35 out of 100 men came back? And that was just on one day. ... To become real assault troops takes work and a lot of time."

Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces said Wednesday that Putin's forces have suffered 327,580 military casualties since the start of the invasion. Newsweek couldn't verify Ukraine's figures, and other estimates tend to be more conservative than Kyiv's.

Russia hasn't publicly disclosed casualties among its own personnel.

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