Russia Executing Soldiers Over Refusal To Obey Orders, Troops Say

Russia is executing soldiers in Ukraine for refusing orders, according to Vladimir Putin’s own troops.

The servicemen offered up horrifying tales of what life is like for the Russian army as the Ukraine war enters its fifth year, including how the soldiers are forced to kill one another.

Speaking to the BBC’s documentary, The Zero Line: Inside Russia’s War, one man said he saw a soldier killed on the order of his commander who was previously rewarded as a “Hero of Russia” in 2024.

Another said he saw 20 bodies of fellow soldiers lying in a pit after being executed by their own side.

The men have given detailed accounts of how they were tortured for refusing to take part in the offensives which they say amounted to suicide missions.

Troops reportedly call these moves “meat storms”.

One soldier told the BBC he is the only survivor from a group of 79 men whom he was mobilised with.

He claimed he was tortured and urinated on because he refused to go on the frontline, while others would be electrocuted, starved and then forced across the front line unarmed.

One man, named Dima, said: “I have dreams. I see [a] forest full of dead bodies, just smashed people with faces, dirty white mouths full of blood. The smell… it doesn’t smell, it tastes.”

He added: “I’m a criminal, and nobody cares – my crime is just I don’t want to kill.”

Their revelations come after Russia has suffered an estimated 1.2 million casualties – including up to 325,000 troops deaths – between February 2022 and December 2025, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

Putin has continued to force his soldiers forward at a high rate of attrition for minimal gain just in the hope of securing more Ukrainian land.

Russian currently holds around a fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign territory but Putin is determined to seize the last 10% of the Donbas region in the east.

While Donald Trump has attempted trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US, Putin is sticking to his maximalist goals and refusing to compromise unless he gets the Donbas.

The Kremlin has also suppressed almost all public opposition to the invasion, even as its economy struggles to stay afloat with the rising cost of war.

The Russian government said its armed forces “operate with utmost restraint, as far as possible under the conditions of a high-intensity conflict, treating their personnel with maximum care”.

A spokesperson said information regarding alleged violations and crimes is duly investigated, telling the BBC they have been “unable to independently verify the accuracy or authenticity” of its report.

Putin has long been accused of deploying “meat grinder” tactics on the battlefield.

Previous MoD reports suggest soldiers have struggled with widespread alcohol issues and that Putin is forcing abducted Ukrainian children to fight against fellow Ukrainians on the battlefield.