Intimidation Vs Leading: Russian Officers Under Growing Kremlin Pressure

As enhanced Ukrainian targeting leads to Russian casualties that exceed conscription while territorial gains remain miniscule, Russian field commanders are under growing pressure from the Kremlin, which leads them to resort to intimidation over leadership of their troops. 

The failure of Russian strategy and tactics is creating a crisis as the country can no longer add enough troops and its economic decline worsens. The Kremlin is hoping that Trump will deliver them a victory they cannot achieve in battle, so the continued setbacks this winter are creating more uncertainty and dysfunction in the command structure. JL

Alisa Orlova reports in the Kyiv Post:

Intercepted calls show Russian commanders threatening and abusing soldiers to push them into deadly assaults. Russian field commanders are under intense pressure to demonstrate compliance with orders and report results to their superiors as quickly as possible. “Faster, f***, I need to file the f***ing report,” the commander shouts, reflecting “extremely low morale within Russian units, where intimidation has replaced leadership and highlight deepening dysfunction within Russia’s military command.

Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) released an intercepted call on Sunday showing Russian commanders threatening and abusing soldiers to push them into deadly assaults.

The intercepted conversation captures a Russian commander shouting at subordinates who appear unwilling to advance.

“What do you mean there’s ‘plus-plus’ there? What the f*** are you doing – have you completely lost your minds?” the commander can be heard yelling. “What the f*** do you mean ‘refusal’? Move forward, f***ing go!”

 

Ukrainian intelligence said the recording illustrates how Russian field commanders are under intense pressure to demonstrate compliance with orders and report results to their superiors as quickly as possible.“Faster, f***, I need to file the f***ing report,” the commander shouts in the intercept, urging troops to advance without delay.

HUR said the intercept reflects an “extremely low moral and psychological state” within Russian units, where intimidation has replaced leadership.

As resistance grows, commanders increasingly rely on direct threats and humiliation to force soldiers into action.

“You f**ing refusers… you f**ing monkeys!” the commander yells at his subordinates in the recording. “Now you’ll go together with them and charge in there!”

Ukrainian intelligence officials say such exchanges point to Russia’s continued reliance on so-called “meat-grinder” tactics – frontal assaults carried out with little regard for losses – and highlight deepening dysfunction within Russia’s military command structure.

 

The latest audio follows earlier published intercepts pointing to similar patterns of intimidation.

In one previously released call, Ukrainian military intelligence said it intercepted a conversation in which a Russian commander in the Donetsk region threatened to shoot any subordinate attempting to retreat, presenting the recording as evidence of systemic coercion within occupying forces.

 

In that earlier intercept, the commander is heard shouting that there was “no possibility to fall back” and that “nobody is leaving their f***ing positions.”

“I tell you again, f***: if someone runs anywhere – shoot them, f***. We go only forward, f***, only forward. Victory or death, b***h,” the commander says in the recording.

The precise time and location of the alleged incident remain unclear. Kyiv Post cannot independently verify the authenticity of the intercepted recordings.

Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russian units of heavy-handed tactics, an accusation corroborated by videos in 2023 that depicted Russian troops being thrown into a pit by their commanders for allegedly refusing to fight due to insufficient equipment and support.

Recent intercepted calls also revealed worsening conditions in the Russian military. One soldier complained of a lack of basic supplies, which led to troops dying on supply runs, while another admitted that various personnel – including cooks – were being used as infantry during frontal assaults.

Earlier last year, Kyiv Post also interviewed “Maria,” a professional eavesdropper with HUR, who said the “insane” things heard in intercepted calls are, in fact, real despite their often outrageous nature.

“They all are real even though they might seem insane. Sometimes I can’t believe the words I’m hearing myself, but we have what we have,” she said.