The families of Russian soldiers sent to fight in a battle for the eastern Donetsk town of Avdiivka have grilled Russian President Vladimir Putin in a letter over the "willful extermination" of troops, an investigative site has reported.
In an appeal to the Russian leader obtained by independent Russian news outlet Important Stories, more than 100 people called on Putin to look into reports that military personnel are being thrown into battle as part of "meat assaults" in a push to seize Avdiivka, even if they have injuries.
Clashes have been increasing in intensity in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, as Russia battles to seize the town of Avdiivka. Since October 10, Russia has poured thousands of troops, tanks and armored vehicles into the area, which has been described as the gateway to the city of Donetsk, which is already in Russian hands. Moscow's forces have reportedly suffered high losses of troops and equipment.
The relatives of Russian troops said that the soldiers have been living in trenches on the front line near Avdiivka, and are constantly being targeted by Ukrainian fire.
Last month, military commanders issued an order to send military personnel with moderate injuries to assault units, relatives of the soldiers said.
"On November 25th, they issued another decree on the spot, so that light and medium [wounded] people would be treated in the trenches," the wife of one of the mobilized men told Important Stories. "They collect the remains and again storm."
Another wife of a Russian soldier said she was told that troops are "walking over corpses there."
The bodies of Russian troops killed in the fight for Avdiivka are "littering" the area, she said.
The appeal said that the "assault brigades" near Avdiivka consist of military personnel with an average age of 40 years old. The majority of troops have not been able to rotate since Putin announced his partial mobilization decree order in September 2022, the signatories said.
The RAND Corporation, an American think tank and research institute, said in a report in June that Russian personnel fighting in Ukraine had not been allowed to leave the military since Putin's partial mobilization decree in September 2022. None would be permitted to leave until the "period of partial mobilization" is ended by another decree, it added.
State Duma Defense Committee Chairman Andrey Kartapolov also said in September that Russian men drafted for the war won't be rotated out of Ukraine until the so-called "special military operation" is complete.
The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, in its latest analysis of the conflict in Ukraine said that Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Avdiivka direction on Monday and made confirmed advances.
The think tank said geolocated footage published Monday shows that Russian forces advanced near a reservoir area directly north of Avdiivka, while Ukrainian forces recently counterattacked near Avdiivka and have regained lost positions as of December 1.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
