As Russian morale deteriorates, some Russian troops have “deliberately punched holes in their vehicles’ gas tanks,” according to a senior US official. According to The New York Times, an unnamed senior Pentagon official stated that the troops looked to be self-sabotaging to escape the conflict. The report further added that the Russian troops are in disarray and crying as they have been ordered to “fire at everyone.”
Many of the Russian forces were young and untrained in warfare, according to the official, and faced diminishing food and fuel supplies. The invasion of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin entered its seventh day on Wednesday, sparking worldwide protests, including in Russia. Since Russia’s invasion, explosions have shaken Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, as well as Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
According to the report, the assessment is based on statements made by detained Russian soldiers and is the reason why the 40-mile convoy of tanks and armoured vehicles near Kyiv has slowed to a crawl in recent days. Further Russian commanders heading the armoured column may be reconsidering their battle preparations to encircle and seize Kyiv, the New York Times reported citing a Pentagon officer.
The assertions in the New York Times report are backed up by intercepted radio messages obtained by a British intelligence agency. According to the senior US defence official who spoke to reporters on Tuesday, some Russian troops have surrendered without a fight with Ukrainian forces. Moreover according to CNN, since Russia initiated its assault on Ukraine, there has been evidence of certain risk-averse behaviour by the Russian military.
Russian troops refusing to heed their command orders to shell Ukrainian cities
Moreover, according to the voice recordings obtained by the Daily Mail, Russian troops are refusing to heed their command orders to shell Ukrainian cities. ShadowBreak, an intelligence firm, has posted 24 hours of speech recordings on Twitter since the invasion of Ukraine began, claiming that it displays a frightening lack of coordination between troops, sometimes even firing at each other.
We also heard them cry during a fight near Kharkhiv, as heard in this recording. But also had fuel issues, trouble coordinating because lack of maps, … While also requesting air support or talking about Iskander strikes. https://t.co/ouOWie1t1G
— ShadowBreak Intl. (@sbreakintl) March 1, 2022
A tense interaction between a Russian soldier on the ground in Ukraine and his colleague at the command centre is revealed in one of these texts, in which the former states they cannot deploy artillery on an area until civilians have fled. On Wednesday, Ukraine’s ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, read text messages that he claimed were sent by Russian soldiers to his mother, just before he was killed in Ukraine.
“Mama, I’m in Ukraine. I’m afraid. They call us fascists. Mama, this is so hard,” the message read, according to Sergiy Kyslytsya.