Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ A Russian soldier says that he and his comrades were told by their commander that "a single shell is worth more than all your lives". The men were sent on suicidal missions without artillery support, without supplies, and had to scavenge for weapons on the battlefield. ⬇️

2/ In a video explaining his decision to desert from the Russian army's 144th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade (military unit 11739), 36-year-old Anton Aleksandrovich Shirshin describes his commanders as brutal and corrupt.

3/ He was forced to join the army after being blamed for a traffic accident. The police offered him a choice between imprisonment followed by being conscripted to join the army, or joining the army voluntarily. He chose the latter option.

4/ Once he got to Ukraine, Shirshin says, "we were taught above all to carry out senseless orders that lead to certain death ... There, our battalion commander treated us not as people, but as expendable."

5/ "He sent groups to the front line to retrieve weapons left there, just so he could write them off. He didn’t care that 15 or 20 people might die in a single go because of it. If one group didn’t return, they’d send the next one on an assault.

6/ "We were sent out without [artillery] support. And once he said something outright—a phrase I’ll probably never forget: ‘A single shell is worth more than all your lives.’"

7/ Corruption was prevalent, with officers demanding bribes to grant leave or resolve other problems:

8/ "To get leave, you had to pay. To sort out any issue, you needed money. Everything was based not on honour and regulations, as we’d been taught since childhood, but on fear, corruption and indifference."

9/ Shirshin eventually decided to desert after refusing orders, after which he was arrested: "During one of these missions, another man and I refused to carry out an order that I personally considered pointless and deadly. For this, I was sent to the military police."

10/ "After the military police, I was transferred to another unit. The commander there was already quite good, but I developed a severe inflammation... After an examination, they sent me to the military registrar for discharge. But even there, it all comes down to money.

11/ "To officially discharge for health reasons, you had to pay the doctors a considerable sum. And then I realised I no longer wanted to be part of this system where human life is worth nothing. So I decided to desert."

12/ He also complains that his allegedly anti-war neighbour broke into his house and stole his dog, but the authorities did nothing about it.

Since deserting and fleeing from Russia, however, Shirshin has had a change of mind and has recorded a second video asking to come home.

13/ "Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!", a now shaven-headed Shishin says, appealing personally to Putin. "My desire is to return to my homeland and resolve my situation exclusively within the legal framework of the Russian Federation."

14/ It doesn't seem that Russia wants him back; he complains that he has "previously contacted the Russian embassy and the German consulate asking for assistance in returning home, as my internal passport is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

15/ "However, my requests have not been responded to."

He is perhaps fortunate, given that other deserters have reported being tortured and sent straight to assault units, where death is highly likely. /end

Source:
t.me/ne_zhdi_novost…