Wheelchairs and Crutches: Russia's Disregard for Injured Soldiers in Battlefields
Russia equips disabled soldiers with wheelchairs and crutches for combat operations
In the brutal face of war, the Russian army may have little regard for the lives of its soldiers, especially the severely injured ones. Check out this video swirling on social media where a Russian soldier, an alleged member of a motorized rifle regiment, confesses that his unit punishes the wounded by deploying them into storming attacks, even those missing limbs or fighting with limited mobility. This horrifying revelation echoes other videos and reports, but remain unconfirmed independently.
Several clips, for instance, have shown up on Ukrainian drones, depicting severely maimed Russian soldiers struggling in the battlefield. One noteworthy video on the Telegram channel of Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butussov portrays a Russian infantryman leaving his wheelchair to drag himself forward on the ground. Behind him, there's a bush full of fighters, whether alive or dead is a mystery.
There's a possible explanation for this cruel tactic provided by Ukraine's center for combating disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko. According to Zaxid, Russian troops might be using wounded soldiers to locate Ukrainian defense positions by sending them to lead attacks on crutches. Another video on the Ukrainian strategic command Chortyzia's channel shows a Russian fighter crawling along a barbed wire fence on crutches, a video authenticated by ntv.de's verification.
CNN had authenticated footage in January of soldiers being dragged out of a military hospital in the southern Russian city of Jeisk in Krasnodar region, with one soldier shouting, "What the fuck are you doing to me? Why? I was operated on yesterday!"
The Russian soldier reported by Meduza's investigation says he was made a grenadier despite losing sight in one eye. Another lost his leg in battle and was deployed to the so-called "Recovery Regiment" of the 47th Tank Division after a hospital stay, but the focus was not on recovering the fighters, but sending them back to the front as "living meat."
Controversies around the handling of Russian soldier casualties have been rampant. There are accounts of Russian bodies being buried alongside Ukrainian dead, likely as an attempt to evade compensation payments to families, indicating a lack of respect for the wounded and fallen soldiers by Russian authorities. Yet, the Russian government has not publicly addressed such allegations.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has led to an alarming number of casualties, with estimates reaching over a million dead, wounded, and missing Russian soldiers. The troops' lives are becoming pawns in a game judged as the "meat grinder" approach, as Russia sends waves of soldiers into heavy fire to make slow advances. The Russian government has been reluctant to engage in comprehensive prisoner exchanges with Ukraine, further highlighting tensions over the handling of soldiers and casualties.
The situation portrays the grim human costs and disputed practices related to the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, with severe consequences for the Russian soldiers themselves.
- In light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, questions concerning the treatment of Russian soldiers have arisen, with some reporting a disregard for the wounded and fallen soldiers, triggering discussions within the community and politics about the employment policy within the military.
- The employments policies within the Russian military, particularly regarding the handling of injured soldiers, have been under scrutiny due to allegations of inhumane treatment, sparking debates about war-and-conflicts and general news, questioning the ethics and humanity in tactics employed on the battlefield.
