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1/ Injuried Russian marines near Tokmak in the occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region were berated and beaten unconscious by their political officer when they asked for medical assistance. The incident was recorded and illustrates how Russia's political officers work. ⬇️ 
2/ According to the ASTRA Telegram channel, the men – who are from the 2nd company of the 3rd reinforcement battalion of the 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade – took "heavy fire" near Robotyne before their company commander ordered them to withdraw.
3/ The men were presumably defending some of the extensive trench systems that the Russians have built in the area. They say that they were "without communication, drinking water and food," and there was no evacuation of the wounded or dead from the battlefield.
4/ After coming under heavy Ukrainian mortar fire, their company commander eventually decided to "move part of the unit" out of the area "to preserve their lives." They had lost several people killed and wounded, and 19 more were shell-shocked and needing assistance.
5/ According to the men, the brigade's commanders began threatening to kill them or send them to a penal battalion for failing to fulfil their orders. The battalion commander, Sergei Belashko, arrived with the brigade's political officer, Nikolai Botsman.
6/ The men say that Botsman "gathered five wounded soldiers who had petitioned for a medical examination and beat two of them." The beating, which caused one of the men to faint from the blows, was recorded in an audio file.
7/ "Have you not learned to lose consciousness yet? How are you feeling? Stand up!" Botsman yells. He says: “My comrades died because of you, because of you, cattle!" One of the men replies: "I got two people out of there," to which Botsman retorts, "Shut the fuck up!"
8/ One of the soldiers who is being beaten pleads that he left his position involuntarily, as he had been evacuated by medics who "punched me with some shit and took me out in the BTR [armoured personnel carrier]".
9/ Botsman is unsympathetic. "Why was this whole circus needed? How far can we go here? I'll tell you a secret: we can take you to the landing and fuck you up, fool. I'll just then say that you ran away. Do you want to find out? You personally?"
10/ Eyewitnesses say that Botsman handcuffed one of the injured soldiers to a tree and hung him there for about a day. He also "shoved his gun into the man's hands and asked the guards if they were ready to confirm that this fighter had attacked him."
11/ He reportedly made the other soldiers dig a grave for the man. The men say this happened in front of Belashko and the brigade's chief of staff, Vitaly Tervidis, neither of whom took any action to stop Botsman.
12/ In the audio, Botsman tells the men that their company will be dissolved and they will all be sent to a penal battalion (presumably a 'Storm Z' unit, where they will be made to perform 'meat assault' attacks). He forcefully dissuades the men from requesting a medical review.
13/ "Bro, jackpot!", Botsman says. "I hope you are as happy as me because I can't hate you fucks ... Only a miracle can save you. The miracle looks like this – this is the deputy battalion commander and the battalion commander.
14/ "If they say to me in the morning, "No, leave these great people to us," you will not leave anywhere. And if they say: "No, take those fuckers," you will all fucking go.
15/ "All you 19 fuckers that wanted [to appeal] to the VVK [Military Medical Commission]. I will arrange the VVK for you. In a fucking attack."
16/ The men also say that Belashko collected 15,000 rubles ($151) from them to buy a vehicle to evacuate the wounded, but spent it on an ATV for himself.
17/ It's notable that such abusive mistreatment is being meted out to members of a supposedly elite unit, but the 810th Brigade has suffered particularly badly in the war. It reportedly lost 85% of its personnel, including several senior officers.
https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1569226172717834240
18/ The brigade has since replenished itself with mobilised men. It's probable that the soldiers being abused here were mobiks; they have previously recorded videos showing the very poor quality of their equipment.
https://twitter.com/markito0171/status/1584285742208991232?s=20
19/ As well as showing the brutal tactics employed by the Russian army's political officers to motivate the troops, the audio highlights the moral and physical pressure that the Russians are under as the Ukrainian counter-offensive grinds south into occupied territory. /end
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