Russian troops vying for control of a Ukrainian stronghold after weeks of failed attacks have tried to boost morale with a video message from the frontline—that appears to show them abandoned and dying.
The brief video made waves on pro-war Russian Telegram accounts Wednesday, with a string of propagandists praising the “powerful” message as a testament to the Russian spirit.
“Hello to everyone,” says the man filming the video, identified as a Russian tankist fighting against Ukrainian troops near Vuhledar, a coal-mining town in the Donetsk region that has come to be known as a “death trap” for Vladimir Putin’s forces after weeks of catastrophic tank assaults.
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The video is perhaps not as reassuring to Russians as it was intended to be. After introducing himself, the cameraman then pans over to another soldier seen crumpled up, wounded, and lying motionless on the frozen ground.
“We saved Andryukha, he’s already been lying there for two days wounded. Everything’s fine, we already bandaged him,” the soldier says.
Another soldier lying on the ground lifts himself up slightly to declare, through a coughing fit, “Glory to Russia!”
In the distance, black smoke can be seen pouring into the sky, and the cameraman calmly explains, “That’s my tank burning.”
”From the frontline, firsthand, that’s what’s happening here,” he says, as artillery fire is heard in the background. “It’s fucked up here.”
“But we’re fucking putting the heat on. Glory to Russia!”
The footage has gained traction among Russian war supporters, even as a new report revealed that Russia’s war losses in Ukraine have already topped those of all other wars Moscow took part in after 1945 combined, including Afghanistan and both Chechen wars.
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies found that between 60,000 and 70,000 Russian troops have been killed or gone missing since the full-scale invasion began last February.
