'We were sent as cannon fodder. We're killing peaceful people': Weeping Russian POWs


Weeping Russian prisoners of war have said they had no idea they were sent to war and were made ‘to attack people defending their territory’. 

Soldiers, speaking in video posted to the Ukraine security services’ Facebook page, said ‘we were sent as cannon fodder’ and warned ‘we’re killing peaceful people’.  

‘This is not our war. Mothers and wives, collect your husbands. There is no need to be here,’ an injured soldier sat in front of a Ukrainian flag was filmed saying.   

Other footage shows captured a handcuffed Russian prisoner crying over the death and destruction wrought by the war, saying: ‘They don’t even pick up the corpses, there are no funerals’. 

At least one of the soldiers urged Kyiv and Moscow to evacuate children from the warzone while another warned ‘no-one wants war’. 

It comes after a Russian soldier allegedly texted home telling his mother: ‘All I want now is to kill myself’, six days after Moscow ordered its forces into Ukraine.  

Captured Russian soldiers have been filmed describing themselves as 'cannon fodder' and warning 'everyone is going in columns and they all die'

Captured Russian soldiers have been filmed describing themselves as ‘cannon fodder’ and warning ‘everyone is going in columns and they all die’

The captured Russian soldiers were speaking in video posted to the Ukraine security services' Facebook page

They claimed they were 'deceived' and did not realise they were going to invade Ukraine

Captured Russian soldiers (left and right), speaking in video posted to the Ukraine security services’ Facebook page, claimed they were ‘deceived’ and did not realise they were going to invade Ukraine

Footage shows captured a handcuffed Russian prisoner crying over the death and destruction wrought by the war, saying: 'They don't even pick up the corpses, there are no funerals'

Footage shows captured a handcuffed Russian prisoner crying over the death and destruction wrought by the war, saying: ‘They don’t even pick up the corpses, there are no funerals’

Captured Russian troops said they had been forced to attack the ‘residents’ in Ukraine who were ‘just defending their territory’.  

‘No one has attacked us and what Russia wants from the war, I cannot understand. Mum, Dad, I love you.’

At least one of the soldiers urged Kyiv and Moscow to evacuate children from the warzone while another warned ‘no-one wants war’. 

Meanwhile a handcuffed prisoner of war burst into tears and was filmed wiping his eyes after what sounded like a female relative told him ‘I love you’ down the phone. 

He went on to urge the person to call for the end to the war because ‘to these b****es it’s just a case of killing everyone’. 

The young soldier also appeared to shed tears for those who die on the battlefield because ‘they have no funeral’.   

‘You don’t touch the corpses because otherwise the FSB (Russian federal security service) will arrest you,’ he said.  

Another soldier, injured during the fighting, was positioned in front of a Ukrainian flag as he spoke to the camera. 

He maintained the claim his troops did not know they were about the invade Ukraine and urged Moscow to end the conflict.   

‘We are killing peaceful people,’ he said. ‘This is not our war. Mothers and wives, collect your husbands. There is no need to be here.’ 

In separate video posted on Telegram showed soldiers saying they were ‘demoralised’ when they realised they were being sent to fight in Ukraine. 

‘We were told we would be enemies of the state and because it’s wartime, we might even be shot if we refused. We were thrown in as cannon fodder.’

He also claimed that Russian soldiers ‘in our unit at least, don’t want this war. We want to go home, we want peace.’  

In separate video posted on Telegram showed soldiers saying they were 'demoralised' when they realised they were being sent to fight in Ukraine

'We were told we would be enemies of the state and because it's wartime, we might even be shot if we refused. We were thrown in as cannon fodder'

In separate video posted on Telegram showed soldiers saying they were ‘demoralised’ when they realised they were being sent to fight in Ukraine. ‘We were told we would be enemies of the state and because it’s wartime, we might even be shot if we refused. We were thrown in as cannon fodder’

Recordings obtained by British intelligence company ShadowBreak revealed Russian soldiers retreating after becoming frustrated with the war, indicating that Moscow’s forces are in ‘complete disarray’. 

In one of the eavesdropped conversations, listened to by The Telegraph, a soldier reportedly sounds as though he is crying. 

In another, a soldier is heard losing his temper when asking when food or fuel will arrive. He says: ‘We’ve been here for three days! When the hell is it going to be ready?’ 

A third message reviewed by ShadowBreak reveals a tense exchange in which the same soldier has to remind a colleague speaking from a command centre that they cannot use artillery on an area until civilians – who are labelled ‘the goods’ – have left. 

ShadowBreak’s founder Samuel Cardillo, 26, told The Telegraph he had been sent the messages by amateurs listening in with antennas.  

He said: ‘What we have found is that the Russian operatives are operating in complete disarray. They have no clue where they are going and how to really communicate with each other properly.

‘There were periods where we heard them [Russian soldiers] crying in combat, a period where they were insulting each other – obviously not a sign of great morale.’

Mr Cardillo said the some of the messages were also ‘proof of war crimes’ because they revealed ordered to fire missiles into urban areas. 

They were among around 24 hours of material obtained by intelligence firm ShadowBreak since the invasion of Ukraine began last week. 

Russian soldiers taking part in the invasion of Ukraine are in 'complete disarray', according to voice recordings obtained by a British intelligence company. Above: Images of captured Russian troops

A captured Russian soldier

Russian soldiers taking part in the invasion of Ukraine are in ‘complete disarray’, according to voice recordings obtained by a British intelligence company. Above: Images of captured Russian troops

The intercepted radio messages indicate that troops are refusing to obey central command orders to shell Ukrainian towns and are complaining about running out of supplies of food and fuel. Above: Another captured Russian soldier

The intercepted radio messages indicate that troops are refusing to obey central command orders to shell Ukrainian towns and are complaining about running out of supplies of food and fuel. Above: Another captured Russian soldier

The body of a soldier, without insignia, who the Ukrainian military claim is a Russian army serviceman killed in fighting in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine

The body of a soldier, without insignia, who the Ukrainian military claim is a Russian army serviceman killed in fighting in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine

In a further sign that morale may be poor, a senior US defence official told the New York Times on Tuesday that some troops have ‘deliberately punched holes’ in their vehicles’ petrol tanks in the hope of avoiding combat.  

Parts of the Russian military are also still using analogue ‘walkie talkie’ two-way radios, making them more vulnerable to interception.

Ukrainian forces are also said to have had no problem jamming Russian communications and interrupting them with the sound of their national anthem. 

Another recording obtained by ShadowBreak is said to reveal a soldier in tears, pleading with his command: ‘…it’s slow, it’s slow.’  

The communications are also said to show that soldiers were told they would meet little resistance upon entering Ukraine. 

Instead, Ukrainian forces are now in the seventh day of resistance to the Russian attack and multiple videos reveal civilians confronting the invading troops and convoys.  

Two Russian troops - believed to be Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 (left) and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt (right) who were captured by Ukrainian forces in the country's east

Two Russian troops – believed to be Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 (left) and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt (right) who were captured by Ukrainian forces in the country’s east

The crew of a Russian BMP fighting vehicle are seen face-down with jackets pulled over their heads

A BMP fighting vehicle was captured, along with four Russian soldiers, during fighting near Kharkiv, in the east of Ukraine, on Thursday morning

The crew of a Russian BMP fighting vehicle are seen face-down with jackets pulled over their heads (left) after being captured by Ukrainian forces (their vehicle is pictured, right)

The new recordings come after Ukraine on Monday paraded captured Russian soldiers in dozens of online videos.

Footage posted online show tied up ‘demoralised and exhausted’ Russian prisoners of war captured after they failed to break through Ukrainian defences in Kyiv and Kharkiv over the weekend. 

Several of the videos were posted on a Telegram channel set up on Saturday by Ukraine’s Interior Ministry called ‘Find Your Own’. 

Many Russian troops claimed that they believed they were conducting training exercises in the border regions and did not know they were being sent to invade Ukraine. 

Videos posted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence early on Friday purported to show at least nine captured Russian soldiers

The soldiers appeared to be trying to cover their faces in the footage

Videos posted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence early on Friday purported to show at least nine captured Russian soldiers

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