Russian military intercepts: ‘Putin is crazy. He wants to take over Kiev, but we can’t do that”

Just a few hours before the ceremony in which Putin annexed four Ukrainian regions, the Russian army bombed a convoy of Ukrainian civilians who were fleeing from Zaporozhye, one of the territories targeted for joining the Russian Federation.

At least 25 people died and over 50 were injured. This, while the Russian troops continue to lose ground on the front. And the Russian president’s popularity is slowly but surely declining at home.

On Friday morning, on the outskirts of the city of Zaporozhye, in the south of Ukraine, Russian projectiles hit a long stationed humanitarian convoy. Initially, the cars went to Zaporozhye with aid, and this morning they were full of civilians fleeing the territory that the Russians were preparing to officially annex.

And overnight, Moscow’s army hit several cities on the front line. There were loud explosions followed by fires in Dnipro, Nikolaev and Odesa.

Instead, Kiev’s troops would have managed to encircle the strategic city of Lîman, in the Donetsk region. Around 2,000 Russian soldiers are said to be isolated here and at risk of captivity, although Putin has reportedly asked their commanders to fight to the last bullet.

According to the newspaper “The New York Times”, which obtained the transcript of some telephone conversations between the Russians, which reveal the frustration and pessimism of the military. The soldiers complain that they have been ordered to shoot anyone who gets in their way. “Putin is crazy. He wants to take over Kiev, but we can’t do that. We lost half the regiment. We are losing the war,” a soldier allegedly told his family in Russia.

Meanwhile, fearing that the borders may close at any time, Russians fleeing incorporation stand in endless queues at crossing points in Georgia, Kazakhstan or Armenia. Many of them hide their faces for fear of reprisals for the families left behind. This man has military experience, he served four years in the army, but now he has not found any motivation.

The fact that it mobilizes so many people means that it has entered a very serious and serious phase. I have friends now in Ukraine and others who have returned from there, none of them say anything good.

Dominic Waghorn, SKY News: “Many of those leaving Russia are young people from Dagestan, Ingushetia, Chechnya and other republics in the North Caucasus… They are desperate to leave, convinced that the mobilization order is deliberately targeting ethnic minorities.~

The fugitives are convinced that new recruits will not make a difference on the front, and not just because they are not properly trained and equipped.

Chechen: “I don’t think they will give their strength, because many of us believe that it is not our war and that Russia is the aggressor.”

Once you pass beyond… the overwhelming feeling is: “Freedom! For 5 days we didn’t know if the (Russian) customs officers would let us out or not.”

“Everything is fine now!” says 10-year-old Grisha, to whom his father explained that he does not intend to pick up the gun.

If the state television broadcasts images of newly incorporated people in training grounds, on the other hand, on the ground the reality looks significantly different.
A newly formed unit was left in the middle of a field with no food and no shelter.

Rus: “No one was waiting for us. The luggage is on the floor. They promised us that by tomorrow morning… They didn’t give us tents, stoves. We sleep in the fields, the buses have gone, no one needs us. We have no money, nothing.. You pile up here like sheep.”

Those who are afraid of the mobilization order or the families of those already picked up have emptied the stores of protective equipment.

Iulia Dalyagina, store manager: “As soon as the partial mobilization was announced, the buyers rushed in. Buy everything: boots, warm clothes, hats, protective equipment, everything.”

Artiom Artemiev, reservist: “The army does not have enough sleeping bags and mattresses for everyone. There used to be a lot in this shop, but there was nothing left, neither here nor in the others. They are sold out even in fishing shops. You can’t even find gloves anymore.”

If, the other day, Patriarch Kiril promised the Russians who fell on the front in Ukraine eternal life in Heaven, the government in Moscow reassures those who have debts. Those sent to the front will have their loans canceled in case of death or serious disability, Russian officials announced.

It is unclear whether the write-off of loans to slain soldiers will also apply retroactively.