Russian Soldier Warns Others Not to Sign Up for 'Hell' of Ukraine War

A Russian soldier has admitted the hellish reality of fighting for Vladimir Putin's forces in their full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in a video that has gone viral.

Putin has not declared a full mobilization to replenish the high losses in Ukraine, but potential recruits are enticed by advertisements promising a starting wage of 160,000 rubles ($1,792) a month. This is more than three times the national average, and there are other benefits, including one-off payments.

However, the unnamed serviceman advised his compatriots, especially those with no previous military experience, not to fight just for cash in the clip shared on X, formerly Twitter, by the pro-Ukrainian account War Translated. Newsweek has emailed the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

While he had combat experience, the serviceman came across green recruits who joined "for the money," which they duly earned—only to be soon killed. One was a 19-year-old who had no idea how to hold, load or take apart an assault rifle.

"You are going to make money," the serviceman said. The clip had been viewed more than 328,000 times as of Monday. "You thought it would be easy? F*** no!"

"I just want to explain to people what's happening here," he said, describing how it was not like World War II "where you simply went to kill Germans." Instead, it was a "modern war" where you had to dodge cluster munitions, drones and shelling.

"For those who want to be heroes... I can tell you that you have come to the wrong place," the serviceman said. "Your heroism will disappear once you enter combat for the first time and see your first corpse. You can end up among these corpses, too.

"It's f****ng scary. It's more than fear—it's horror," he added, saying that, on the battlefield, recruits will also have to fight their fears not to desert or get captured.

"The heroism, the patriotism is only in the beginning," the serviceman said. "Welcome to hell to the dear brothers who are coming for money," adding, "before making an ill-conceived decision like I did, you should think 100 times whether it is worth it.

"Either you're sick of life or you're a total fool," the serviceman said; "patriotism goes away quickly when you realize you want to live," he added.

"Good luck to anyone who wants to feel the burn of adrenaline; there's lots of it here. But I suggest you don't come; it's not worth it," he added, describing it as a "really bad idea," especially for those who have no experience.

The U.K. has said that Russian losses stood at 450,000. The estimate by Leo Docherty, British armed forces minister, includes those killed and injured and is not far off Ukraine's latest figure on Monday of 467,470.