When Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Kremlin, military circles and Russian troops believed that the war would be short and that Kyiv would surrender within a few days.
About four and a half years later, that prediction has been completely disproved, while the conflict has caused heavy losses among the invading army as well.
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The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates that approximately 1.5 million Russian soldiers have been killed, wounded or are considered missing. In addition, thousands of other troops have ended up in the hands of Ukrainian forces.
Accounts from several captured Russian soldiers, published by the Ukrainian side, describe extreme conditions on the front line. They claim to have gone for long periods without food, water, ammunition or medical assistance. Some of them said that, in order to survive, they had to drink their own urine or dirty water from puddles and streams.
One of the interviewed soldiers said that he had lost more than 60 kilograms within six months. He identified himself as the deputy commander of an assault company from Regiment 283, part of the 144th Motor Rifle Division.
“The men were dying in their positions because we could not even bring them food,” he claimed.
According to another soldier, the commanders had left their positions, cut off radio communications and ordered the troops to remain in a circular formation.
The Ukrainians also said that one of the Russian soldiers was in such serious condition because of hunger that he died shortly after being captured.
The accounts were included in a video published by the 3rd Army Corps of Ukraine, which says it captured around 50 Russian soldiers during “Operation Vivaldi,” a counteroffensive carried out north of Lyman, in the Donetsk region.
The soldiers were questioned by the commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky. He told them that they had been “lucky” and that “captivity is the best thing that could have happened to you,” referring to the fighting conditions they had allegedly experienced.
Several Russian military bloggers have also reported similar difficulties. Their posts mention shortages of water, food, communication and supplies in areas affected by the fighting.
One of them, who uses the name “Management Speaks,” wrote on Telegram that some soldiers had gone several days without water, while others had been forced to drink their own urine.
The bloggers claim that shortages of supplies and communication links contributed to the capture of a large number of soldiers by Ukrainian forces. They also say that field commanders presented the troops and their superiors with an inaccurate account of the scale of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“Operation Vivaldi” appears to have also exposed difficulties in Russia’s chain of command, particularly in communication between military structures and the political leadership, according to reports by The Kyiv Independent.
On September 1, Vladimir Putin declared that Russia had taken control of Sviatohirsk. But less than a week later, Andriy Biletsky published a video from the city and claimed that it was completely under the control of Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps announced that during the third phase of the “Vivaldi” counteroffensive, Russian losses had exceeded 2,000 people, while more than 250 soldiers had been taken prisoner.
These figures have not been independently verified. However, Russian sources have also acknowledged that a considerable number of soldiers have been captured by the Ukrainians and have called on authorities in Moscow to clarify the situation at the front.
