Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and caught drinking or being insubordinate are forced into “Z-Storm” punishment squads and sent to the most dangerous parts of the front to face possible death, according to a new report.
At least five of these penal battalions, made up of ex-convicts and non-compliant troops, were thrown into some of the most intense fighting in a bid to repel Kiev’s counteroffensive in eastern and southern Ukraine this summer, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing interviews with 13 people familiar with the topic. with the matter.
“Assault fighters are just meat,” said a regular soldier from army unit No. 40318 which was deployed near Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, in May and June.
He said he had given medical treatment to a group of six or seven wounded “Storm-Z” fighters on the battlefield, disobeying an order from a commander to dispose of the wounded, which he said was in line with the attitude general of officers towards punishment. squad members.
“If commanders discover someone with the smell of alcohol on their breath, they immediately send them to the storm squadrons,” said the soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals in Russia.
Russian state-controlled media have reported on the “Storm-Z” squadrons and their involvement in fierce battles, but the Reuters investigation, which includes interviews with five fighters from the units, all speaking to the agency anonymously , offers the first insight into how units are formed and used on the battlefield.
A screenshot of a video shared on June 28 shows fighters from a “Storm-Z” squadron explaining that they will no longer fight in Ukraine, in protest of the treatment meted out to them by their commanders.via REUTERS
The “Storm-Z” squads, reminiscent of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s World War II punishment squads, are each composed of between 100 and 150 combatants and are integrated into regular army units. They have typically been sent to the most vulnerable sections of the front, resulting in heavy casualties.
One soldier, who was recruited from a prison where he was serving a sentence for robbery, told Reuters that 105 of the 120 men in his “Storm-Z” unit embedded in the 237th regiment were killed or wounded in fighting near Bakhmut in June.
The penal squads, which, unlike the private Wagner mercenary group, are under the direct control of the Russian Defense Ministry, combine prisoners who volunteer to fight in exchange for the promise of a pardon with regular soldiers punished for drinking and other violations, the people interviewed said.
“Storm-Z” squadrons have reportedly suffered heavy casualties on the battlefields. Pictured: a wounded soldier with “Putin” printed on his vest, VK
“Storm-Z” squads are useful because they can be deployed as expendable cannon fodder, according to the Conflict Intelligence Team, an independent organization that monitors the war.
“Storm fighters are simply sent to the most dangerous parts of the front, in defense and attack,” the group told Reuters.
While Moscow has never acknowledged the creation of “Storm-Z” units, the first reports of their existence emerged in April when the Institute for the Study of War, a prominent US-based think tank, cited what, He said it appeared to be a leaked Russian military report. Report on the formation of the squads.
During the summer, penal units were sent to repel Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south and east of the country.VK
President Vladimir Putin made reference to convicts fighting in the regular army on Friday, saying during a televised meeting with troops that he was aware that two of his comrades who were former prisoners had died in combat.
“They gave their lives for the homeland and completely absolved themselves of their guilt,” Putin said, adding that help will be offered to the prisoners’ families.
Artyom Shchikin, a 29-year-old man from the Mordovia region of central Russia, was serving a two-year sentence for robbery when military recruiters came to his prison asking if inmates wanted to go fight in Ukraine, according to records. judicial officers and two of their relatives.
The Russian Defense Ministry has reportedly been recruiting convicts to join “Storm-Z” units in exchange for the promise that they would receive a pardon. VK
He signed up because, although he was scheduled to be released in December, he wanted to clear his criminal record and earn money for renovations on his family’s home.
In May, Shchikin was assigned to a penal unit within the 291st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment and deployed to the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine, where Kiev forces are trying to break through Russian defenses, family members added.
Shchikin’s relatives last heard from him on June 18. Days later, his unit’s positions came under Ukrainian fire. Three comrades who were with him in a trench were killed, another had his hand torn off, and Shchikin himself is missing, relatives said.
When the man’s family contacted the defense department seeking answers, their queries were largely ignored.
“They were from a Storm unit. For them, no one is going to be in a hurry,” said a relative.
Unable to find answers about the fate of their loved ones through official channels, some families have turned to social media, posting photos of missing soldiers in a “Storm-Z” group on the Russian platform “V Kontakte” and asking those who have information about their whereabouts to contact them.
In addition to convicts seeking pardon, “Storm-Z” units also include regular soldiers who have been inducted into punishment squads for being drunk on duty, taking drugs, or refusing to follow orders. of the commanders, according to two soldiers. .
Family members have reported that they have had difficulty obtaining information about soldiers fighting in prison units. VK
According to Russian law on military discipline, a soldier can only be transferred to a prison unit if he is found guilty by a military court. None of the people who spoke to Reuters said the soldiers who had been sent to the “Strom-Z” squadrons had appeared before a court hearing.
A group of about 20 “Storm-Z” fighters in Zaporizhzhia staged a revolt over the summer and released a video on June 28, saying they refused to return to the front because of the way they had been treated.
“On the front line, where we were, we did not receive ammunition deliveries. We don’t get water or food. The wounded were not taken away: even now the dead are rotting,” said one fighter in the video, published by Gulagu.net, a Russian prisoners’ rights group based in France.
Artyom Shchikin, a 29-year-old man from the Mordovia region of central Russia who was recruited from prison into a Storm-Z unit, has been missing since June. Via REUTERS
“We receive horrible orders that are not even worth following,” he added. “We refuse to continue carrying out combat missions,” lamented the squad member.
After the video was released, Russian military police officers beat members of the squad, but conditions were said to have improved since then, according to relatives of two fighters.
Reuters could not determine how many soldiers in total are serving in the penal units, but Serhii Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern Operational Command, was quoted by The Telegraph as saying in June that there were more than 170,000 “Z-Storm” fighters. in its “operational zone”.
With postal cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn