Many Russian soldiers seen fleeing from trenches, surrendering – defense spox

There has been an increasing number of Russian servicemen who refuse to execute orders to go on an offensive in the Tavria operational zone, while their commanders physically threaten them, up to issuing execution threats.

That’s according to Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman for the Tavria Grouping of Troops, who spoke on the air of Espreso TV, Ukrinform reports.

"Recently, nearly 40 invaders left their trenches and tried to flee toward Crimea, while remaining armed. I’m talking about an entire platoon of the Russian army. There were reports that they were being hunted down in an attempt to bring them back," he said.

Due to the fact that the occupiers refuse to go on the offensive, representatives from the Russian high command arrive at positions. They intimidate the military, threaten to shoot them or subject to physical violence, said the spokesman.

"This is how they stimulate invaders to execute assault missions. They put pressure on them both mentally and physically. The newly mobilized soldiers, who have just been deployed, have not yet seen those horrors and do not understand what is going on. That is why it’s those who have already been on assault missions and somehow survived who refuse to go on another offensive as they are terrified of going there again," Shtupun said.

According to the official, the invaders are refusing to go on offensive missions including due to a cold snap and unsatisfactory sanitary conditions as a minor injury can lead to death.

Within four days, 30 people surrendered, the spokesman added.

As reported, in the past day, Ukraine’s Defense Forces repelled 39 enemy assaults in the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Marinka, and Zaporizhzhia sectors, and another ten – on the eastern bank of the Dnipro in Kherson region.