“Invading Russian forces have become so demoralized that they are shooting themselves in the legs with Ukrainian ammunition to avoid further fighting, the U.S. Sun is reporting.
The outlet said that the Russian troops look for Ukrainian ammunition to use so they can receive medical treatment without it appearing as if their wounds are self-inflicted.
A conversation between Russian soldiers was intercepted by Belarusian media outlet NEXTA, according to the Sun. One Russian soldier is reportedly heard saying: “They’ve been shooting at us for 14 days. We’re scared. We’re stealing food, breaking into houses. We’re killing civilians.
“Russian officers shoot themselves in the legs to go home. There are corpses everywhere.”
NEXTA tweeted on Thursday: “Another intercepted conversation of the #SBU shows how demoralized and broken the invader army is: #Russian occupiers look for ‘#Ukrainian ammunition’ to shoot themselves in the legs and go to the hospital.”
Newsweek reported late last month that captured Russian soldiers say they do not want war and wish to go home according to a translation of a viral video.
One Russian soldier reportedly says in the video: “We were told we were being sent for training at first, but we were put on the frontline. People were demoralized and didn’t want to go, but they said you will become public enemies. We do not want this war. We just want to go home and we want peace.””
Comment: How would Ukrainian ammunition be different from Russian ammunition? Don’t both sides use much the same small arms? pl
Report: Russian Soldiers Shooting Themselves in Legs to Avoid Fighting | Newsmax.com
In war the truth is so precious it must be protected with a bodyguard of lies. Most don’t know the majority of US military suicides never deployed or left the states and the VA has a higher obesity rate than the general population. Truth is very difficult to hold down in warfare for some reason.
I think the Ukrainians still use a lot of the AKM/AKMS rifles in 7.62X39, not only in the Territorial Defense Forces but in the regular forces as well. Russian rifles are exclusively in 5.45X39 AFAIK. Wounding oneself with an AKM would lessen the possibility of being questioned. That’d be my guess.
I just don’t believe it. Lots of talk about shooting yourself in the leg during Nam. My experience w/a weapon in my hand was limited to Basic and lots of guys talked about it but I never heard of any one actually doing it. The U.S. Army d/n look kindly on those kinds of “accidents” and I don’t believe the Russian Army does either.
Bill Roche –
I agree. Never heard of a case while I was in Nam. Much later I heard of a single case of intentional self shooting in the foot. In Ukraine today the great majority of those Russian troops know what will happen to them back home. Or if they even get back home, Putin’s Kommissars will laugh at a defense of a faulty-weapon-discharging-accidentally and take appropriate action.
Are the Russian POW’s allegations of behind the lines execution squads targeting deserters true? Or just a boogeyman story told by their grandfathers?
I do believe however there have been desertions and maybe even some minor mutinies. What is the truth behind the stories of elements of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade refusing to board landing craft? Is it outright propaganda, if so good on Ukraine’s PR capability as it may instill similar inclinations in other units? Or is it maybe an isolated incident by a few individuals?
In the Twitter thread there’s a screenshot saying “we wanted to shoot each other’s legs with Ukrainian 7.62 rounds and go back to the hospital here in Budenovsk”. Maybe the local Ukrainians have old AKs and the Russians are all 5.45, but you wouldn’t have thought a 5.45 would be suspiciously non-Ukrainian. If I was them, breaking an arm or leg in a “truck unloading” accident would be a lot less dangerous than taking a 7.62 round, even in a limb.
I can see playing dead with a live grenade under your belly (I knew a VN Vet deuce 1/2 driver that wore a Willy Pete grenade, painted pink, on his web gear for just such occasion), but shooting yourself to run from your fear – no. Too bad Russia didn’t have John Wayne.. (I know, I know)
Self-inflicted gunshot wounds were not rare in VN. I was once flying a medivac to pick up a couple of Marines who’d been shot in the foot On approach I was warned to keep them apart in the helo. It seems that one of them tried to shoot himself in the foot but lacked the nerve to pull the trigger. He convinced a buddy to shoot him in the foot. After the blast, it hurt so bad that the wounded guy shot the buddy in the foot.
Sounds like a great opportunity for the Ukrainians to bot a buck load of “success stories” into the information sphere of Russian soldiers saving their lives by wounding themselves. Treat those Russian forest/swamp wanderers well when they get scooped. Their relief will be viral among their fellow sufferers left behind.
Get on that horse and ride it! Ride it hard!!
It is a lot less painful to drive your vehicle into a swamp and vamoose however. Hec, a whole info operation on “how to quit”, not get burned alive in your vehicle and survive your regime’s callous disregard for your existence would be a force multiplier for the Ukrainians. Giddy-Up!
Sounds like Ukrainian propaganda. But it does happen. A supply sergeant in my unit in Vietnam shot himself to get out. I did not know him enough to have any insight. And he was immediately vanished from our presence. All I learned from the incident was that it does happen.
For whatever that is worth.
I was deployed on the Lincoln in the 90’s being in a Marine Squadron. One of our Marines shot himself in the foot to get out of the deployment in peacetime. Another one said he was going to kill himself so they kicked him out the military. I was starting to agree with them when we were on standby to repel into Somalia during Blackhawk Down. Fortunately it got called off at the last minute.
The classic WWI working-class memoir “Old Soldier’s Never Die” by Frank Richards discusses the frequency of men in the trenches using picks to dig and conspicuously holding their arms long and high in the air on the upswing, thus inviting the Germans to give them a golden ticket home and out of the war.
And Richards was in an elite unit – the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
If you were ranking British Newspapers by reliability, the Sun would only be marginally above the Sunday Sport and the Daily Star. I know you should consider the message first, and then consider the source but the source is far from impeccable.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/gallery/15-best-funniest-most-outrageous-22027193