Ukraine’s defence ministry has fired a top commander after photos emerged of a group of emaciated soldiers who have been left on the frontline for months without proper food and water.
The scandal erupted after the wife of one of the soldiers, Anastasiia Silchuk, posted the images on social media. The four men appeared to be pale and visibly malnourished, with prominent ribcages and thin arms.
The soldiers had spent eight months defending a shrinking bulge of territory on the left bank of the Oskil River, near the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, their relatives said. Supplies of food and medicines could only be flown in by drone.
“When the lads arrived at the frontlines, they weighed over 80–90kg. But now they weigh around 50kg,” Silchuk posted. After one delivery, she said, no more food turned up for 10 days. The soldiers were forced to drink rainwater and melt snow to survive.
“The longest they went without food was 17 days. They weren’t listened to on the radio, or perhaps no one wanted to listen to them. My husband shouted and begged, saying there was no food and water,” she said, adding that the problem was bigger than just one case.
Having a tendency to always read sentences in halves. I went straight into clicking the article, I was shocked at how very little remains on the bones of those men at was very disgusted at how Russia is torturing its prisoners.
I started reading the article from the bottom. and that testimony of the woman who said that since the news went public, her husband wrote wrote to her reassuring her that they have started receiving more food, this confused me cause since when did Ukrainian prisoners in Russia get to write back to their families.
I went up the article, and that’s when I truly was shocked to discover that these men were not uks prisoners in Russia but Ukrainian combatants in the front line who haven’t eaten for 17 days. I can’t even imagine going for 5 days without food let alone 17 days. and that this is all done to them by their own commanders forcing them to defend slivers of land with zero regard to their condition. contrast that with the hundred of thousands of young Ukrainian men who fled the country because they had the means to bribe to escape. I don’t blame those who are doing their best to dodge the draft in such an unfair regime.
There’s more to the story than that if you read more of it. Russia was intercepting their methods to feed the men. They are also trying to be very cautious of giving away position
Which is not to excuse the situation, but nothing is straight bad and straight good. War is shit. And furthermore I wouldn’t call this a ‘fix’.
The men are still uncertain that their food line will not jsut get interrupted by Russia again. So even they are aware this isn’t a ‘fix’.
It’s just PR.
The fix would be if the war ended. And even then it’s a very very Far cry from all the damage that has already been done to call that a fix.
At the same time Ukrainian uh, recruiters, are running people over and throwing them off of roofs, and even pressuring other countries to repatriate their citizens abroad… all to send them to starve and die on the front. Not looking too good.
Yeah the Russians give out steak dinners every night?! Have you seen this, have you heard about this?
What does that have to do with this? I definitely don’t support press-ganging people into war no matter what, particularly just to send them into something as hopeless and catastrophic as this.
Many people suffer from (good vs evil) for them Ukraine is good and Russia is evil. Then they have a hard time believing the good guys can do anything wrong.
This is mostly clear when we see how it took Eroupe about 2 years of genocide to somewhat realize Israel is the bad guy, but then they got stuck because it is also clear USA is a bad guy.
If you step out of this narrow point of view, you can clearly see that, Ukraine has always been intended to be a buffer zone, the one who benefit from that are mostly military complex and contractors. They don’t care about human at all. That’s why these news are expected.
I understand. It’s very difficult for people to accept.
Yeah exactly which is why Russia doesn’t do that. I agree with you!
I don’t understand what you are even trying to say here. Do you mean that Russia also is kidnapping people off the streets and sending them against their will to starve on the front lines? Because I would also be against that, but it wouldn’t make it OK for Ukraine to do either. Let them fight who want to fight.
I’m saying they don’t do that! I’m being serious.
Well they are kidnapping kids and forcing them to become soldiers, if not necessarily the front lines to starve … but we can’t rule that out, either.
