"Skin and Bones:" Hunger Is Ravaging Russian Frontline Units in Ukraine

The ongoing dysfunction of Russian logistics has apparently gotten so bad that intercepted radio and phone calls reveal widespread reports of hunger and, in some cases, starvation among Russian units on the front lines in Ukraine. 

Though not good for already questionable morale, Russian troops are accustomed to a level of deprivation that would be inconceivable for western forces, so the question is to what degree this is contributing to the Russian military's continued underperformance as the fifth year of the war approaches. JL

Julia Struck reports in the Kyiv Post:

Russian soldiers are complaining that they are starving on the front lines in Ukraine, according to an intercepted phone call obtained by Ukrainian military intelligence.  “Military intelligence has received further confirmation of the collapse of the Russian army’s logistics system: infantry units have been left without proper food and supplies for a long time. I saw five comrades starving to death in a nearby forest.” 

Russian soldiers are complaining that they are starving on the front lines in Ukraine, according to an intercepted phone call obtained by Ukrainian military intelligence.

A recording posted Tuesday, Feb. 3, on the YouTube channel of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) says Russian troops are rapidly losing weight due to a lack of food and water.

“Military intelligence has received further confirmation of the collapse of the Russian army’s logistics system: infantry units have been left without proper food and supplies for a long time,” the HUR said in a statement.

 

In the intercepted conversation, one Russian soldier emotionally describes his condition, saying they have nothing to eat or drink and that he has lost so much weight from exhaustion that his uniform “hangs like a hanger.”

 

“But how can things be here? We don’t eat, we don’t drink anything… If I turn sideways, you won’t even notice me. The uniform hangs like it’s on a hanger!” the soldier says.

“F***, it’s just skin and bones now – and only the beard somehow saves it, at least something is visible,” he says.

His interlocutor says he had seen a photo of the soldier with a beard and noted his severely deteriorated appearance.

In March 2025, Third Assault Brigade spokesman Oleksandr Borodin said Russian forces in the Kharkiv direction were facing serious shortages of provisions.

“They are starving there. There is no drinking water,” Borodin said. “But you have to understand – these are problems the command is aware of. They know the infantry will survive for several weeks, and they’re OK with that. There’s a reserve system. They calculate how many they will lose, even within a week.”

In October 2025, The Telegraph reported that Russian soldiers left in the so-called “death zone” of the Dnipro River were dying of hunger. The report focused on low-lying islands in the Kherson region, surrounded by open water.

 

According to the outlet, hundreds of Russian troops were stranded on a chain of islands south of Kherson and left without supplies. Some reportedly died from starvation.

“Prisoners whom our fighters recently captured on the islands said it was impossible to deliver food and drinking water to them, and they had to drink river water,” said Colonel Oleksandr Zavtonov of the 30th Marine Infantry Corps.

Also, last October, Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault Brigade released a video featuring testimonies from surrendered Russian soldiers. One prisoner said the Russian army provided almost no food, leaving some troops to starve on the front lines.

“I saw five comrades starving to death in a nearby forest,” he said