Russian Soldier Tears Into Putin in Furious Video Message

A man believed to be a Russian soldier has ripped into President Vladimir Putin and other officials in an expletive-ridden video shared on social media.

The clip of the supposed soldier was uploaded to X, formerly Twitter, by Ukraine's former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Herashchenko on December 23.

Ukrainian officials have claimed Russia has suffered more than 350,000 casualties since the war began. Moscow and international commentators have previously disputed Kyiv's figures.

In the video, the soldier claimed to be close to Mar'inka—just southwest of the eastern city of Donetsk—and hit out at Putin, Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and questioned where the rest of the country's army was.

"I'm just mobilized. I'm in the Donetsk direction, near Mar'inka," the soldier said. "What would we like to say to this government?" the soldier said.

"Look at these ********: When we are fighting here when we are rotting in the trenches, they are wearing 23 million (rubles worth necklace) and they boast about it."

The figure equates to around $250,000.

"Comrade Putin, Comrade, damn it, what is this supposed to mean? Are we ******* sitting in the trenches for these *************? Will you tell us when the term [of our military service] ends?

"Convicts [who are sent to fight in Ukraine] have an end to their military service. You ******* pardon these ******* murderers, rapists, and so on," the soldier continued.

"We've been ******* rotting here with mice in the trenches for a year and a half now. When will this end for ****'s sake?

"******* Putin. Shoigu, *****. When will this ******* end? We're ******* sick of it. Where is our ******* army that you've been telling us about for so many years, *****?"

The soldier then repeated his question about Russia's army and continued to hit out at the country's officials who he claimed were living lives of luxury.

Newsweek has been unable to verify the veracity of the clip shared by Herashchenko.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Putin has signaled interest in a ceasefire that freezes current front lines.

The U.S.-based think tank claimed his interest in a ceasefire is "more consistent" with Russia's ongoing efforts to delay and discourage further Western military assistance to Ukraine.

"ISW observed similar Kremlin efforts to mislead Western policymakers into pressuring Ukraine to negotiate with Russia in winter 2022-2023, and effectively redirecting Western focus onto hypothetical negotiations rather than ensuring that Ukraine has sufficient materiel before its spring-summer counteroffensive," the think tank said.

"The Kremlin is likely using backchannels to achieve a similar effect amidst Western debates for further military aid to Ukraine."

Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment via email.

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