Despite the hundreds of thousands of casualties and the no longer secret stories about conditions for Russian army soldiers at the front, thousands keep volunteering, mostly for financial gain or to avoid prison, all hoping they will beat the odds and survive.
This story, like most others, suggests that not only are those odds extremely long, but that the Russians have as much or more to fear from their officers as they do from the Ukrainians. The question is what this growing cadre of surviving, if damaged and traumatized veterans will mean for Russia's socio-political future. JL
Matthew Luxmoore reports in the Wall Street Journal:
Simdyankin was among the hundreds of thousands of Russians lured into the military drawn by propaganda, lucrative pay and, for some, a chance to avoid prison time. They find themselves dispatched hastily to the front, where Russia’s army fights with brutal Soviet-style tactics that pay for small gains with a colossal loss in lives. Sent to Vovchansk after two weeks training, every one of the 100 or so troops in Simdyankin’s unit was either severely wounded or dead. Despite shrapnel injuries to his leg and thigh, lost weight, after going days without food, he got less than a week to recover. “Our commanders didn’t care whether or not we survived. They’ll keep throwing us forward until there’s no one f—ing left. Same story, different day. We all knew it was a one way ticket."
