1/ Russian soldiers fighting near Pokrovsk say they are eating bark to avoid starvation, while they face systematic extortion, embezzlement, and violence from their commanders, who send numerous men to their deaths and routinely execute others who are deemed inconvenient. ⬇️
2/ Vladimir Valerievich Dulyaninov, serving in the 6th Guards Tank Regiment (military unit 93992), has recorded a series of videos which his aunt has released in an apparent effort to pressure the Russian authorities to take action against the regiment's commanders.
3/ Dulyaninov has given a detailed account of the abuses in his unit, which reflect many similar accounts across the Russian army. He says that he is the commander of an assault platoon, but "I've lost many soldiers due to the reckless commanders, the rush and all that."
4/ In a video recorded on 12 September 2025, he says that his men are sent "on meat-grinding missions, calculating that no one will survive, and arranging everything necessary for this."
5/ Before launching an assault, his commanders ordered him to execute five of his own men (he does not explain the reasons for this) but he refused to go through with it:
"They asked me to zero out my own people before the assault, people like me who came after the assault."
"They asked me to zero out my own people before the assault, people like me who came after the assault."
6/ "They had no provisions, no ammunition, and they were being driven forward. At that moment, I was like a repeater; communication through me was fine. I received both of [the commanders]. They told me to zero five [men].
7/ "Do you understand? What should I do? My conscience wouldn't allow it, I listened to it. The guys, I understand them."
8/ He says that he "personally received such an order from a lieutenant with the call sign 'Twilight,' but I refused to carry it out." Instead of murdering his own men, he persuaded them to join him on the assault so that they would have a chance of living. They all died anyway.
9/ "They send groups to the far end, that is, the front line. They say there is still food there, that everything should be there. The squads arrive there, but there is nothing. They don't send planes [supply drones] there.
10/ "They say they can't fly there, although the allies [neighbouring units] can. After that, they do everything to ensure that these groups don't survive. They sent us to storm, I survived, I was the only one."
Dulyaninov says that his unit had to attack without fire support.
Dulyaninov says that his unit had to attack without fire support.
11/ Although he survived, he was badly injured:
"After that, when I rolled back [retreated], I had significant injuries, three shrapnel wounds, and a sprained leg. In general, I couldn't get back any faster, so I crawled somewhere.
"After that, when I rolled back [retreated], I had significant injuries, three shrapnel wounds, and a sprained leg. In general, I couldn't get back any faster, so I crawled somewhere.
12/ "I crawled for six days. It was 40 degrees Celsius. For four days I begged them for food and water. What did they drop? [But] it was to no avail."
During the mission, he and his men ate foraged apples and tree bark to avoid starvation.
During the mission, he and his men ate foraged apples and tree bark to avoid starvation.
13/ "There's no fucking food or drink here. We're just chewing apples. Before, I was eating bark. Holy shit, the supplies are crappy here."
He made it to the safety of a position held by the 24th Brigade, but found that his own unit had listed him as missing.
He made it to the safety of a position held by the 24th Brigade, but found that his own unit had listed him as missing.
14/ There had been no attempt to rescue any of the wounded. "The wounded are not evacuated; they are simply left to die."
Dulyaninov describes the infiltration tactics currently being used by Russian commanders as a form of deliberate murder of their own men:
Dulyaninov describes the infiltration tactics currently being used by Russian commanders as a form of deliberate murder of their own men:
15/ "It happens in various ways, but the basic one is this: a group of five people with one ration and a minimum of ammunition is sent to the furthest point of combat contact. It takes three days to get there—through minefields, barbed wire, and under fire.
16/ "Finally, exhausted and hungry, the fighters reach the enemy, their stronghold, and ask for fire support. They are told: there will be no support, so just attack.
17/ "But as soon as the group is detected, [Ukrainian] machine guns, snipers, automatic grenade launchers, and drones quickly attack and begin to 'zero it out'."
18/ Dulyaninov says that "this is even scarier than Bakhmut ... It feels like everyone's been sent away for a reset [death]. It's total crap."
"It feels like they’ve taken everyone to zero. Young guys, fuck, they’re dying here, one after another, bitch. It’s fucked up."
"It feels like they’ve taken everyone to zero. Young guys, fuck, they’re dying here, one after another, bitch. It’s fucked up."
19/ In a sign of the heavy political pressure on the Russian army to advance quickly, he says that the commander of the 90th Tank Division ordered the 6th Regiment's commander to seize a ruined Ukrainian-held village "by lunchtime" or else be sent to an assault squad himself.
20/ "The division commander said: if you don't take the village by lunchtime, the regiment commander will be the one to get the hell out of there. He'll be the one to get everyone to the assault—everyone forward."
21/ Major General Alexander Sergeyevich Nilov's threat reportedly prompted Colonel Albert Ravilevich Bulatov to round up the regiment's wounded and send them into the battle along with the able-bodied men. The attack failed, amidst carnage.
22/ "First, they were given provisions for the journey—one ration for three days, that's understandable. And that's all—there should have been provisions later, but in the end, damn it, they saw neither birds [supply drones] nor provisions."
23/ The men were wounded and stranded in a village which was "nothing but bricks", with "no drinks, no food, nothing":
"The guys kept asking for food, but there's no bird. They go on the air and shout, "There's no food, we can't walk, our legs won't work."
"The guys kept asking for food, but there's no bird. They go on the air and shout, "There's no food, we can't walk, our legs won't work."
24/ "And I personally heard them [the commander] shouting, basically, "go on the attack, faggots."
Everyone was "300-200" [killed or wounded] before the few survivors retreated.
Everyone was "300-200" [killed or wounded] before the few survivors retreated.
25/ Duyaninov says that his commanders routinely extort large amounts of money from their men. "For some, it's a good amount of money: 150,000 to 200,000 rubles [$1,863–$2,484]." The money is taken on a "voluntary-compulsory" basis, ostensibly "for the needs of the unit."
26/ He names a specific recipient – Lieutenant Ruslan Daudgadzhievich O., call sign "Darginets," to whose account the soldiers transfer funds, known as the "company cash desk." Where the money actually goes is unclear to Duyaninov.
27/ Before the men go on assault missions, they are forced to leave their bank cards and PIN codes with their commanders, and they find that their personal belongings have been stolen if they return alive.
28/ Men who could testify against the commanders are murdered, Duyaninov says. He says that the order to “reset” the fighters is given by a commander with the call sign “Sumrak” and carried out by a soldier with the call sign "Zayats."
29/ Duyaninov says that he firmly believes "that God sees everything and will restore order." He blames his corrupt and incompetent commanders, and implores Putin and the Russian Minister of Defence to intervene and set things right:
30/ "All those bastards, the commanders, will get their comeuppance. I wish they'd take our place here ... I want, God willing, Vladimir Putin, Belousov, and everyone involved in the leadership to simply restore order, destroy everything, dispossess all these faggots." /end
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