Russian Soldiers Beg for Vacation as Putin's War Drags On: Ukraine Video

In a video circulated on Sunday by a Ukrainian official, Russian soldiers appeared to beg for a vacation as the war in Ukraine continues to drag on toward another major milestone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin first launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine in late February 2022, with the conflict having since dragged on longer than most would have ever predicted as it nears its two-year anniversary next month. According to recent estimates from the Ukrainian military, Russian forces have suffered over 360,000 deaths in the war, as well as countless losses of military hardware. The Kremlin does not provide a running total of reported Ukrainian losses, and Newsweek could not independently verify either count. While Ukrainian sources might be inflating such numbers, other experts agree that they reflect a dire situation for Russia's forces.

On Sunday, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs and a vocal critic of Russia on social media, took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a clip allegedly showing Russian soldiers begging Sergei Shoigu, the Russian minister of defense, for a vacation amid the ongoing slog of the conflict. They also purportedly complained about the lack of key supplies during the harsh winter months.

"Russian soldiers beg Shoigu for vacation, complaining about lack of winter uniforms and heaters," Gerashchenko wrote in his post alongside the video. "They say gasoline and food are in short supply. The occupiers from the 2nd Battalion, 6th Company, 26th Motorized Rifle Regiment, Military Unit 12267, recorded an appeal to the minister of defense, specifying that 'in seven months, the soldiers have not had a single vacation, while the number of dead and wounded is growing.'"

Newsweek could not independently verify the authenticity of the video that the official shared. While numerous reports have backed up the video's purported claims about the harsh conditions Russian soldiers are grappling with, Ukrainian officials could have reason to exaggerate the plight of their enemies on the frontlines.

Newsweek reached out to Ukrainian and Russian officials via email for comment.

In the clip, which was translated to English by Gerashchenko, the soldiers claim to have been stationed in the village of Krynky, located in the Kherson region, since early August, with the video purportedly being shot on Saturday. In that span of months, they claim to "have not had a single day off, not a single rotation," and to have been besieged by "constant shelling since August 2, with cluster and phosphorous bombs."

"We ask Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to take action against the ongoing lawlessness and injustice, and not to leave the blatant violation of serviceman's rights unchecked," the soldiers say near the end of the clip. "Thank you."

In a statement sent to Newsweek on Sunday, Rajan Menon, an expert on European defense with the Defense Priorities think tank, said that the video's implications fit a general trend of discontent among Russian troops.

"There have certainly been periodic incidents pointing to discontent within Russian military ranks, including public protests by soldiers against commanders who kept sending waves of them into battle only to have them killed or wounded," Menon said. "An example was Gen. Rustam Muradov in the battle for Vuhledar in the winter and spring of last year. The complaints led to his being relieved of command."

He continued: "But the relevant question is to what extent morale problems, as indicated by individual episodes, will affect Russia's overall war effort. While there's no reliable way to predict their larger significance, that doesn't mean they aren't newsworthy."

Updated 1/21/24, 4:32 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Menon.