Russian Soldiers Dissatisfied with Discriminatory Treatment... "Some Surrender After Being Given a Ride"

Burned vehicles are abandoned on the roads of Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] Reports have emerged that the morale of Russian troops in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, is declining. It is claimed that soldiers are increasingly dissatisfied due to setbacks in Russia's military operations and poor treatment.

According to major foreign media on the 2nd, a senior U.S. Department of Defense official believes that some Russian units operating in Ukraine have surrendered due to low morale. The official hinted that the Russian military is hampered by shortages of food and fuel as well as declining morale. It was also reported that Russian soldiers engaged in acts of vandalism, such as destroying vehicles or puncturing fuel tanks, to prevent their own troops from participating in the conflict.

These circumstances have also been exposed on various social media platforms. On platforms that allow video uploads, footage is circulating showing hungry Russian soldiers begging for food, abandoning trucks and fleeing, which are then seized by Ukrainians. Cases of Russian soldiers being captured by local farmers have also been reported in the media.

The Washington Post (WP) cited unequal treatment within the Russian military as the main cause of the decline in combat effectiveness. Seventy percent of Russian troops are contract soldiers who serve for three years and receive $1,100 (1.33 million KRW) per month. In contrast, conscripts undergo only four months of basic training and serve for one year, receiving a salary of less than $25 (30,000 KRW) per month. If the morale of conscripts, who mostly serve in fuel, ammunition, logistics, and transport units, declines, frontline combat units could lose their strength.

There is also criticism that this reflects the limits of a war without justification. It means the government failed to present a convincing reason for the war, thus unable to boost soldiers' morale. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been criticized for using the term "special operation" instead of "war," which diluted the importance of sacrifice.

Another cause of dissatisfaction was Russia’s forced conversion of thousands of conscripts to contract soldiers just before the war. According to a Russian presidential decree, conscripts are not allowed to operate outside Russian borders.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.