Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ A Russian soldier has spoken of how his entire battalion was wiped out at the hands of a perpetually drunken commander who sent men unarmed and unsupported into assaults. He says his unit was in disarray, with routine beatings, alcohol and drug use, and extortion. ⬇️

2/ Platoon commander Anton Alekseevich Putyatov has recorded a video after deserting from the 1435th Motorized Rifle Regiment, serving near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

3/ He says that in the summer of 2024 he participated in assault operations near Pokrovsk. His commander, Captain Arkady Vitalievich Vasiliev, ordered the 2nd Battalion to enter the village of Novohradivka, claiming there was no enemy presence there:

4/ "As we approached the city, our battalion commander, call sign Grom, Captain Arkady Vasiliev, said to us while drunk, "The city is ours. Go in calmly." Well, he was the commander, so why doubt his words? If he said so, then it must be true.

5/ "Let's go. The second battalion was almost completely wiped out."

Of Vasiliev, Putyatov says: "I never saw the battalion commander sober. He was always accompanied by some kind of shaman."

6/ He claims that Vasiliev was protected by the regiment commander, who threatens his men with execution if they disobey:

"The regiment commander said that anyone who offends him will be personally shot. That's where it all begins."

7/ "He started issuing orders to surrender our weapons, our personal protective equipment, and move out at night through the minefield to the wooded area where the enemy was hiding."

8/ Putyatov doesn't explain the reason for this, but other accounts have spoken of Russian soldiers being sent out unarmed and told to scavenge weapons and body armour from corpses left on the battlefield by both sides.

9/ On a later occasion, Putyatov's platoon was forced to retreat after coming under fire. "We sat in that wooded area we'd retreated to for almost seven days. No food, no water, no ammunition resupply, no rotation."

10/ "Then they just pounded us from three sides, and [the Russians' commanders] didn't even respond. They had no time..." Putyatov says that he found out afterwards that his officers were in the basement of a five-storey building, smoking drugs.

11/ "The people were exhausted, tired, without rest, without sleep. No food. No reinforcements. And the drunken battalion commander, who sent everyone there, demanded that we hand over our radios."

12/ Vasiliev told Putyatov that he wasn't worried about the heavy casualties: "They'll give me new people. I'm not worried. The main thing is that you complete the task. But if not, I'll file you as missing in action, either AWOL or as deserters."

13/ Putyatov was badly injured in the leg on the same day and was sent to Russia for medical treatment. When he was sent to a unit in Orenburg for recuperation, he found "a drinking binge! These guys are using illegal drugs, completely oblivious to everything."

14/ He returned to his regiment in late 2024 but was initially denied leave due to a shortage of personnel at the front. After much effort, he eventually persuaded his commanders to let him spend the New Year at home with his family.

15/ Back in Ukraine in January 2025, he began receiving extortion threats from soldiers of "non-Slavic" appearance. "Give me your card, give me your money, give me your PIN—you're about to get hit in the head. We'll break you, we'll wipe you out. And it was like that every day."

16/ "This went on for a day, two, a week because, despite being a tough guy, if I hit someone, it would be a real pain ... They started coming to my checkpoint duty station. They told me point blank that if I didn't give them my card and PIN, they would kill me."

17/ Facing daily death threats, he deserted on 30 January 2025 and went into hiding. He doesn't say where he was or what he was doing, but on 2 May he was brought to a collection point for deserters in the Sverdlovsk region where he worked on 'humanitarian aid' for the troops.

18/ In October 2025, he attempted to transfer to the 29th Guards NBC Protection Brigade (military unit 34081), but was denied. He then declared his refusal to participate further in the war and was prepared to face punishment for it.

19/ Despite this refusal and promises of leniency, he was returned to his company in his original regiment. "They gave me a slap in the face [i.e. a beating] for being AWOL, and they said they'd shoot me as soon as they got the chance."

20/ Putyatov deserted again on 12 October 2025 for fear of his life. He now says he won't serve either in the regiment or continue to fight in the war, and will accept a lengthy term of imprisonment. He mourns his lost civilian life:

21/ "I had a wonderful job as an English teacher at school. I was constantly surrounded by a crowd of amazing children who always looked forward to my lessons, who all came to me." /end

Source:
t.me/ne_zhdi_novost…