Russian Soldier Says Moscow Sent Troops to Kill His Unit

Ukrainian military intelligence published audio this week of what it said was an intercepted phone call of a Russian soldier saying Moscow had sent troops to kill his unit deployed in Ukraine.

In the audio posted Tuesday by Ukraine's military intelligence directorate (GUR) on its Telegram channel, a man identified as a member of the Russian military reportedly told a friend he is stuck in a position between Ukrainian forces and the Russian troops targeting his unit.

"Just two of us left alive. The rest are dead. We were all replaced by contract soldiers, and everyone in our company is now listed as MIA [missing in action]," the soldier said, according to a translation of the audio—which Newsweek has not independently verified—by the Kyiv Post.

The Post also said the "contract soldiers" discussed by the solider could be what are known as Russia's "barrier troops," which have been described as units tasked with enforcing military conduct rules. Barrier troops, also known as "blocking units," have reportedly been used in Ukraine to shoot Russian soldiers who have fled from battle.

In the audio posted by GUR, the friend asked the soldier about a mutual acquaintance from the unit. The soldier replied that the person is "still lying in the field, in a body bag."

"I don't know what to do," the soldier said. "They've written us off a long time ago, and there's no way out from the zero line."

The soldier then explained to his friend that the contract troops had been sent to his undisclosed location from prisons in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Luhansk. He added that it was no longer possible to return to military headquarters to explain what was happening and said he wasn't even sure where he could go because of land mines in the area.

"So what, they'll shoot you if you go back?" the friend said. "Yeah, they're shooting at us," the soldier replied.

The friend then asked if the contract servicemen were Russian.

"Yeah, they're on our side, from the Luhansk prisons. About 30 of them attacking us," the soldier replied, according to the Kyiv Post. "All the paperwork is set, we're officially MIA, just like that."

The Post indicated that the friend was incredulous about the situation and asked why the other group of servicemen had been given orders to kill the unit.

"They're getting rid of us, annulling us," the soldier said, which the Post noted is a front-line term for "disciplinary execution."

"Basically, they want to replace us, so they brought in contract guys. Now they're cleaning us up, and all the necessary documents have been prepared," the soldier added.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email for comment.

The presence of Russian "barrier troops" in Ukraine was documented by the U.K.'s Ministry of Defense (MoD) last November.

"Due to low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying 'barrier troops' or 'blocking units,'" the MoD wrote at the time. "These units threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives and have been used in previous conflicts by Russian forces."

Ukraine has previously shared what it has described as evidence of Russian soldiers admitting its military is killing retreating comrades. In June, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) published interviews with two Russian prisoners of war who described such actions.

During an interview with SBU interrogators, one of the unnamed servicemen said he was given orders to open fire on deserters in Ukraine.

"I stood on the second line and did not allow the 'Z-assault' forces to retreat. The order was to fire to kill in case they retreat," the Russian said, according to a translation by the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.

Also in June, the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported on drone footage that reportedly showed three Russian soldiers opening fire on at least seven of their comrades who were retreating. Newsweek could not independently verify the authenticity of the drone video.