Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Tired, depressed, and angry Russian soldiers mobilised in 2022 have been reflecting on their three years at war. "I feel like I'm in The Hunger Games", one remarks. Others speculate that the Russian government wants to exterminate ethnic Russians. ⬇️

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1971309879454585249

2/ Many soldiers don't understand why the war has dragged on for so long and have turned to conspiracy theories to try to explain it. Some blame the Ukrainians, others blame the Russian government, or the West, or Muslim immigrants from Central Asia.

3/ One asks: "With whom are we negotiating peace? With mercenaries? With those who smash markets and civilian homes with HIMARS? Or perhaps with those who glorify the swastika and the ideas of the Third Reich?"

4/ "Peace negotiations are only possible if the Ukrainian government changes its course on Nazism. But most likely, the entire Ukrainian government is held hostage by the Nazis."

5/ Others say that the Russian government is deliberately exterminating its own people to replace them with foreign migrants. They claim that the authorities are "interested in zeroing out the people and needing to eliminate as many men as possible".

6/ As evidence, they cite the Russian army's notorious "meat wave" tactics and its inability to counter Ukraine's 'wall of drones': "[There are] ten [Ukrainian] drones for every [Russian] man. Why don't we have that many drones?"

https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1971487288053084504

7/ "I have an opinion on this that could get me jailed. I think someone is pursuing a policy of zeroing out the [maximum] number of people. Otherwise, we would have drones flying or driving instead of using stormtroopers."

8/ Soldiers speculate that the Russian government is massacring them so that Muslim migrants can take over. "What if our country turns into a Muslim one, dumps Russian men on their own, and pays widows so they can start a new family with migrants 🤔?", one asks in a chat room.

9/ They feel increasingly alienated from civilians back home, whom they feel don't understand their situation and aren't concerned about their problems. "The country doesn't really care," a soldier complains. "They're just dancing. Whoever's affected gets screwed."

10/ "And no one even knows where the front is. You can see it all on vacation. No one's interested in the subject. Everyone just wants to drink."

"Now I don't even have any friends among civilians; it's like there's some kind of hatred for everyone", says another.

11/ "It's not that we became like this, it's that they made us like this. We'll waste our entire youth here, and no one will even say thank you."

The soldiers are uncertain what they are fighting for, reflecting widespread confusion inside the Russian army.

12/ A mobilised soldier sees the goal of "going to conquer Kyiv" as "bullshit". "I would suggest returning all the territories and resigning, but I feel sorry for the people who are supporting Russia. [The Ukrainians] will probably start to crack down on them."

13/ "So the other option is to reach the banks of the Dnipro and draw a border there. And that's it, a lifelong state of war along the river. That's probably the best option for the people [in Russian-occupied territories]."

14/ Another agrees that the objective should be the capture of all of the territory that Russia has proclaimed to be annexed. "For me, the end of the Special Military Operation is the liberation of the LPR, DPR, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, as was announced at the beginning."

15/ "And the armchair experts who shout about taking Mykolaiv and Odesa, let them go and take them back, but bring us home."

Others just want to go home. "I want it to be over. I feel like I'm in The Hunger Games."

16/ "I mean, we were chosen and, with everyone's approval, sent to the slaughter, while everyone else sits at home, screws their women, goes on vacation, drinks beer at the bar, and doesn't give a damn. And here we're banned from everything—from shopping to alcohol."

17/ A few still want to go all the way west to the Polish border, despite the great unlikeliness of this prospect. "We're here for victory. No, reaching Kyiv or Lviv isn't enough," says one mobik who has remained fervent despite everything.

18/ "We need to take complete control of the entire territory of Ukraine, purge the Nazis, ensure the functioning of institutions, and establish dialogue between society and government bodies."

19/ "Nazi ideology is already being welcomed in Europe! We're fully preparing for a major war, which is why I don't understand the complacency of our society. Everyone lives as if their eyes are closed. It's sad. There is no peace, alas."

20/ The war has had devastating effects on the family lives of the mobilised men, with many divorces and separations, as well as the loss of irreplacable family moments.

21/ One man comments that he has not seen his family for three years: "My wife has been alone for three years, and my children are growing up without fathers. The first words, the first steps—all in vain. Those at the top don't care about our problems."

22/ Another reflects on what the war has cost him. "Just imagine," he writes. "I'm 42, and I had everything wonderful in my life: a small business, family, friends, and a strong sense of patriotism. And then I lost it all, including my health."

23/ "It just so happened that I've NEVER been abroad and never wanted to leave because I love my homeland. But now I realize that patriotism is PUNISHED in today's reality, and they don’t need us, and people like us need to be simply got rid of."

24/ "They need the greedy, the corrupt, and so on… Honesty, integrity, and principles have become simply dangerous. That’s why I very often feel the urge to go as far away as possible from this insanity, lies, and hypocrisy. My eyes have been opened. But we’re still here." /end

Source:
verstka.media/kak-zhivut-mob…