Russian veterans spill the tea about stomach-churning war crimes

Russian military veterans have described the grinding horrors of war against Ukraine. The former soldiers appear in a new BBC documentary named The Zero Line: Inside Russia’s War.

They claim to have witnessed summary executions by Russian commanders as well as massed human wave attacks referred to as ‘meat storms’.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2021. It soon descended into stalemate with NATO countries, including the UK, arming Ukraine. Some sources put the number of total casualties at 1.8 million. A US-led peace deal is currently being thrashed out as fighting continues.

The soldiers told the BBC that the practice of executions was known as ‘zeroing’. One alleged he saw a Russian commander – later decorated valour – order the death of another soldier:

I see it – just two metres, three metres… click, clack, bang.

Another veteran from a different unit said he saw the same officer execute four men:

I knew them. I remember one of them screaming, ‘Don’t shoot, I’ll do anything!

The veterans also reported apparent mass graves:

20 bodies of fellow soldiers lying in a pit after being “zeroed” by comrades.

Meat waves

The interviewees described:

how they were tortured for refusing to take part in assaults they describe as verging on suicide missions. Russian troops call these attacks “meat storms” as waves of men are sent across the front line relentlessly to try and wear down Ukrainian forces.

One eyewitness said he refused to go to the front line and was :

tortured and urinated on.

He claimed:

Others in his unit who refused would be electrocuted, starved, and then forced into meat storms unarmed…

The Russian government told the BBC its forces operated:

with utmost restraint, as far as possible under the conditions of a high-intensity conflict, treating their personnel with maximum care.

The government said they could not verify any of the claims but insisted criminal allegations were investigated.

You can read the full testimony here. The documentary, due to air on TV on 24 February, can already be seen online here.

Pipeline strike

Ukraine is alleged to have destroyed a key section of oil pipeline with drones. The Druzbha-1 station supplied Russian crude oil to eastern Europe. Open source X accounts showed footage of explosions:

Hungarian foreign affairs minister Péter Szijjártó said the country would stop supplying diesel to Ukraine unless the matter was addressed:

Despite promises and assurances, it has still not been restored due to a Ukrainian political decision even though every technical condition is at hand, according to our information.

A European Commission spokesperson told reporters:

We are in contact with Ukraine on the timeline for reparation of the Druzhba oil pipeline and how quickly this might be up and running.

The spokesperson insisted reserve oil stocks meant there were:

no short-term risks to security of supply for Hungary and Slovakia.

The war is now 5 years old. The Kremlin said on 24 February it has not achieved all its aims yet. And, in true Trumpian fashion, the US president has indicated he wants a peace deal done by 4 July – in time for the United States’ 250th birthday celebrations.

Featured image via the BBC