An intercepted phone call between a furious Russian soldier and his mother reveals that conditions on the frontline are rapidly deteriorating for Vladimir Putin’s men. The recent phone call, shared by CNN, signalled a growing move among Russian troops towards fleeing the military and its war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin admitted on Wednesday that there are “problems with equipment” for Russian troops.
This follows concerns that ill-equipped Russian soldiers, already suffering from low morale, face a gruelling and freezing winter in Ukraine as temperatures drop below zero.
Laying out the conditions on the frontlines, a soldier told his mother back in Russia: “Leaving, leaving, people are leaving.”
The mother responds: “Leaving? Like running away?”
The soldier confirms: “Yes running away, what else?
“Five f days under pouring rain, with no sleep.”
A ‘powerful explosion’ has rung out over the central part of the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea, sparking fears in Moscow that the small Russian-annexed land could be under threat.
Sevastopol heard a “sound similar to the launch of a rocket” from within the city, according to independent journalists at Krym Realii. Read more HERE.
The intercepted call continued as the worried mother told her son: “That’s deserting, watch out.”
However, the fed-up soldier was defiant, telling her: “If they don’t let us leave in December, we will go away too.
“You just can’t imagine, we live in a swamp.
“Everything is leaking, we have no sleep, no food, nothing!”
On Wednesday, President Putin told reporters: “Regarding the problem with equipment as far as I can tell, this has already been sorted out.
“However, if something else needs our special attention somewhere, of course, I would ask for more information. Then we will deal with it.”
Discussing President Putin’s recent remarks and the intercepted call, CNN’s Erin Burnett told viewers: “Putin has his back pressed firmly up against the wall because he knows his invasion has not gone according to plan.
“An admission of problems with equipment, as soft as that admission may feel, for Putin to say that is a big deal.
“He is forced to admit it because of what his troops are seeing each day.”
President Putin has vowed to continue striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure despite criticism that the tactics have left millions without electricity and water at the start of winter.
Military experts suggest that Russia’s tactic of hitting Ukraine’s infrastructure is most likely designed to demoralise and terrorise the population.
Ukraine is seeing snow and sub-zero temperatures in many regions, raising fears that the strikes may mean people die of hypothermia.
On Wednesday, the Russian leader also warned that the war in Ukraine may “be a long process”.
