Photo: poisk_in_ua, ne_zhdi_novosti / Telegram
In mid-September, Dmitry Lysakov (“Goodwin”) and Sergey Gritsai (“Ernest”), two well-known volunteers in the Russian pro-war milblogger community, were killed in the war in Ukraine. Both had openly criticised their commanders and, just before they died, recorded a video message claiming their drone reconnaissance unit had been disbanded, and skilled operators were being sent into direct assault missions as infantry. The deaths of “Goodwin” and “Ernest” are the most high-profile example, but far from the only one. Russia’s “war correspondents” even refer to these incidents as “serial murders of personnel, masked as meat-grinder assaults.” Reports are mounting of Russian military personnel accusing their commanders of sending “unwanted” soldiers to certain death or threatening to “zero out” dissenters.
Who: “Grigory Kotovsky” from the 3rd Battalion’s UAV unit, 33rd Motor Rifle Berlin Don Cossack Regiment (Unit No. 82717).
Allegations: “Kotovsky” accuses his commanders of extortion—those who refuse to pay are sent to storm Ukrainian positions.
Details: “Kotovsky” says the extortion began almost immediately upon his arrival at the front. He blames Sergeant “Bugor” and Platoon Commander “Moskva,” who allegedly told soldiers the funds were needed to buy drones. “Kotovsky” claims he gave them 90,000 roubles in total, but drones never arrived. When he refused to pay more, he says, he was threatened with being reassigned to the front lines. Following a confrontation with commanders, someone left an explosive device in “Kotovsky’s” dugout with a message: “You choose what to see in it.” After an explosion and fire in the dugout, Bugor and Moskva were questioned by military police and released. They returned to the base, assigned “Kotovsky” as a machine gunner, and sent him to the front. Eventually, “Kotovsky” received his money back and was returned from the front line.
Quote: “Finally, the sergeant brings me to a stash where old, worn helmets and body armour are piled up. He tells me, ‘Take your pick—here’s a helmet, here’s a vest.’ I told him, ‘Wait a sec, I was issued a new uniform; at the very least, I’m entitled to a new helmet, a new vest, and a new rifle.’ I’d been crawling across a minefield strewn with bodies left there for half a year.”
Who: Soldiers in “Unit V” of the 30th Motor Rifle Regiment. The Insider reported that units labelled “V” are made up of recruited prisoners. Unlike the “Storm Z” units, which operate under an unclear status, V-unit fighters are considered official servicemen and qualify for benefits.
Allegations: Soldiers say they were threatened with execution if they refused to follow orders.
Details: The video was allegedly recorded in October 2024, before a planned assault on Volchansk in the Kharkiv region. Most of the soldiers in the footage are former prisoners who signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence, according to “Don’t Expect Good News,” a Telegram channel. In the video, a commander refers to soldiers who refused orders and fled the unit’s position.
Quote: “There’s an order, and orders come in three types—written, verbal, and by communication channel. Refuse an order—you’ve seen the film ‘Penal Battalion’?—it’s execution. It’s each man’s choice whether to go or not. But either fucking way, they’ll catch you. Either fucking way, you’ll come back, and you’ll be caught regardless. How you’ll live with it after—that’s another question.”
Who: Assault company soldiers in the 19th Tank Regiment of the 25th Army, deployed near Lyman. The speaker in the video is Edgar Kremer, aged 20.
Allegations: The assault soldiers say they are being targeted for elimination after refusing “stupid, reckless, drunken orders” that lead to heavy losses.
Details: The video was posted on October 20. Kremer (known by the callsign “Azid”), standing among other soldiers, says the battalion commander, Sergey Radchenko (“Atlas”), began “zeroing out” servicemen a few days ago. Explosions can be heard in the background. Kremer says the unit has assumed a defensive perimeter, as they are now caught between Ukrainian forces and Russian units who want to “zero them out”—a term now commonly used by Russian soldiers to describe either reckless disregard for lives or intentional elimination by sending troops on fatal missions.
Quote: “Right now, we’re in a defensive perimeter. On one side, those assholes shelling us day and night. And on the other side, it’s our own assholes who want to zero us out because we refuse to follow their stupid, reckless, drunken orders. Our battalion commander, Sergey Radchenko, ‘Atlas,’ began ‘zeroing out’ our soldiers a few days ago. Literally, he’s taking the law into his own hands and killing our men. Alongside his comrade from Unit V, he’s killing guys for refusing to go forward and get wiped out, given that we’re losing 90% of personnel every assault. We’re now few in number and under threat—from our own commanders.”
Who: Eduard Zhugin, from the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.
Allegations: Commanders threatened to “zero out” Zhugin for refusing to lead an unprepared assault.
Details: Zhugin’s video appeal was posted on September 19. He says he originally served in the railway troops but was reassigned to drone operator training in the autumn. There, he met members of Battalion “Espanola,” formed from football ultras. After a celebratory meal, Zhugin was dismissed from the course, assaulted upon returning to his unit, and transferred to an assault unit. A few days later, he learned of his new assignment to the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Brigade, with only a few hours to prepare before deployment to Lysychansk in Russia-controlled Luhansk.
Quote: “Our battalion commander, callsign ‘Sumrak,’ met us on arrival. He lined us up and told us, ‘Get ready—you’re going into the assault tomorrow.’ I explained immediately that I wasn’t prepared; I hadn’t received any training, and I wouldn’t be going. He got angry, shouted at me, swore at me, and struck me. Then he told me, ‘You’re going in tomorrow regardless, or I’ll zero you out.’ I understand I have an assault tomorrow… whether I’ll survive, I don’t know. Even if I do, I’ll face more assaults, and my chances are next to nothing.”
Who: Former members of the 174th Reconnaissance Battalion, 150th Guards Motor Rifle Division. One soldier identified in the video is Alexander Albertovich (patronymic, not a surname), a mobilised soldier since September 2022. The second soldier is unidentified.
Allegations: The soldiers claim commanders threaten to “zero out” subordinates or send them “into the meat grinder.”
Details: In a video posted on October 18, a reconnaissance officer claims he and his colleagues were “forcibly” transferred to the 102nd Motor Rifle Regiment. Alexander says their new regimental commander, “Peresvet,” threatened his men with death, leading some to desert in fear for their lives.
Quote: “Under threat from the commander that we’d be sent to the meat grinder, he told us he’d personally zero us out, kill us. We’ve got recordings of this in voice messages. We’re not refusing to complete combat missions, but when you’re told to your face, ‘We’ll kill you, maim you, beat you, and send you off’—we can’t follow commands like that.”
Who: Alexander Degtyarenko, callsign “Moryak.” He was a senior scout in the “Storm” unit of the 19th Tank Regiment, 25th Army (Unit No. 12322). Edgar Kremer serves in the same unit.
Allegations: Degtyarenko claims his regiment commander, “Pioneer,” ordered the killing of fellow soldiers who refused to “attack FPV drones.”
Details: Degtyarenko recounts that in spring 2024, fighters with the callsigns “Fenich” and “Skazka” were ordered by “Pioneer” to “zero out” three soldiers: “Elvis,” “Prok,” and “Maloy.” Degtyarenko says he witnessed these killings and asserts that, to his knowledge, six soldiers have been killed in total. He also recalls “Atlas” (mentioned by Kremer in his own appeal) “hunting for guys on the front” and killing at least one.
Quote: “They wanted to zero me out as well, which forced me to urgently leave the combat zone. Command thought I was no longer needed as I’d seen too much. I had to make a quick exit.”
Editor: Dmitry Tkachev
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