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Recently, a video went viral on the internet showing a Ukrainian soldier captured by the Russians saying that he learned about the so-called “counteroffensive” through TV and TikTok posts, as Kiev’s officials do not let troops know about what is happening in the conflict. The soldier said that he does not even know if the Ukrainian move has already started or not, as the officers do not comment on the matter with the troops.

In the video, the prisoner of war (PoW) states:

“I have no idea [if the counteroffensive has started or not]. I know just what’s on TV – that there’s going to be a counteroffensive. I watch videos on TikTok. The commanders didn’t say a peep. Some said [Ukraine’s counteroffensive] had already begun, others said it hadn’t started yet (…) So I just don’t get it. I don’t know (…) They have to say something to the soldiers and clarify what they must do”.

In addition to the lack of communication with soldiers about the current status of the conflict, the PoW’s speech also revealed a series of mistreatments that the Ukrainian military are suffering.

He said that his unit was sent to the battlefield in Staromayorsk region with the promise of being replaced in three days. But the rotation did not happen, and the soldiers were left at the front for longer than expected, running out of food, water and other supplies. For this reason, all the soldiers in the PoW’s unit surrendered when the Russians arrived.

“We drove to Staromayorsk (…) They told us to go to the end of the village and sit there, wait (…) and defend ourselves. We sat there for three days. On the third day we were well, they had to take us away. They [the Russian troops] started shooting from artillery. We hid. Then I came out and saw the Russians. So we surrendered. If they [Ukrainian officers] said they would take us, then they should have taken us, not just thrown us away. We had food only for the first day (…) And then there wasn’t even water”, PoW added.

Apparently, the Ukrainian “counteroffensive” is being carried out just by abandoning poorly trained and unexperienced soldiers on the battlefield. And to make matters worse the soldiers do not even know what they are actually doing. They are not aware of what type of operation they are involved in as there is no transparency of information among the military.

With these irresponsible measures of deceiving their own soldiers and sending them to the certain death on the frontlines, Kiev has already lost over 43,000 troops since June, according to Moscow’s official data. In addition to soldiers, the regime also lost “over 4,900 pieces of various weaponry, including 26 aircraft, nine helicopters, and 747 field artillery guns and mortars”. The numbers make clear the failure of the counterattack attempt and explain why it is convenient for officers not to tell the truth to their soldiers. They certainly fear that reality will affect troops’ morale and encourage disobedience, collective capitulations.

Indeed, the Ukrainian attitude towards its own citizens is a real crime against humanity. Trying to achieve the Western-imposed goal to launch a “counteroffensive” in the spring-summer season, Kiev began to send untrained troops to death in unwinnable battles. So, despite the Western media blaming Russia for the current humanitarian tragedy in Ukraine, this information shared by the PoW shows that it is the Kiev regime itself, not Moscow, that is truly to blame for the suffering of the Ukrainian people.

In the end, it seems that the supposed “counteroffensive” was never an actual tactical plan by the Ukrainian military, but simply a media narrative created to generate enthusiasm and hope in the Western public opinion. The Ukrainian officials, obeying what Western sponsors say, were forced to take some measures to increase Kiev’s firepower and thus prove the existence of a “counteroffensive”. Soldiers on the frontlines, however, have just been used as cannon fodder in this entire process without even knowing what was really going on.

The case of this PoW shows very clearly the disrespect and abuse suffered by the Ukrainian military from their own officers. This is not really surprising, since, as a proxy regime, Kiev does not care for the welfare of its people but for Western interests. The best thing to be done by the Ukrainian military in the face of their country’s submission to foreign powers is simply to stop obeying orders and surrender collectively, pressuring the regime to accept Russian peace terms.

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Lucas Leiroz is a journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on Twitter and Telegram.

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