Frontline footage posted by Ukrainian drone operators and Russian troops show men who have clearly suffered leg injuries, some still bandaged, using crutches in combat areas, in several instances targeted by Ukrainian drones as they use the walking aids to try to flee. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Russians are recycling the wounded back into the fight,\u201d one Western official said, referring to videos of \u201ctroops on crutches being pushed back into the line.\u201d <\/p>\n
One drone video from January, posted by the Ukraine\u2019s 59th brigade active around the embattled strategic city of Pokrovsk, shows a Russian soldier using a crutch under each arm to try and reach cover. He is moving slowly, despite likely being able to hear the Ukrainian drone above him and realising he is at risk. <\/p>\n
The drone then drops a mortar round on him. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell are you doing with me, why? I had surgery yesterday, damn it!\u201d, he says. Turning to the camera, he adds: \u201cI\u2026 am addressing all residents of Russia and I want to show everyone what is happening to one of our worthy soldiers in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.\u201d <\/p>\n
Inside the vehicle he shows his badly wounded leg, where a large injury has recently been operated on, he says. He also holds up his wounded hand. \u201cI don\u2019t have a finger; they also sewed it up yesterday. I can only move using crutches.\u201d <\/p>\n
He says he has a painful 8-hour drive on bad roads ahead of him to return to the frontline city of Luhansk, and turns the camera to other passengers, who also show their wounds. \u201cThere\u2019s a tube in my stomach,\u201d the other man says. It is unclear when the video was filmed. <\/p>\n
Another video posted by Russian military bloggers apparently last month shows a Russian unit, apparently from the 20th Army, in a forest, wearing body armour and fatigues. The man filming says: \u201cThis is how we\u2019re going on a combat mission. This is so f**king completely f**ked up!\u201d <\/p>\n
The cameraman adds: \u201cNow they\u2019ll also give them machine guns and body armour and send them off! How is this even f**king happening?\u201d <\/p>\n
One soldier says: \u201cI fought five times, two severe injuries and a severe brain injury.\u201d He says the hospital declared him fit for unarmed service only. \u201cNow they hang the guns on me and take me to the front line without any problems. The 20th Army is f**king awesome like this,\u201d he says, putting up his thumbs. <\/p>\n
Another soldier says, watching wounded colleagues shuffle by: \u201cThey are taking the boys with crutches to receive the weapons, f**king hell!\u201d The unit is apparently headed to Makiivka, for future deployment to combat, the soldiers say. <\/p>\n
A Ukrainian defense intelligence official said they had noticed the trend in wounded Russian soldiers appearing in \u201cactive combat areas\u201d over the last six months. He attributed the use of the wounded as a bid by commanders to hide losses and their inability to get troops in and out of combat areas when needed. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in the hospital for a month,\u201d he said, \u201cand they don\u2019t extract the shrapnel for anyone. They just put on some ointment and that\u2019s it. When the wound heals slightly, they discharge you.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said he recuperated near Moscow in a unit of amputees, or those immobile or on crutches, who were entitled to a month vacation when healthy again. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut they are not allowed to leave the unit,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is what they call \u2018a recovering regiment\u2019. They spend a month there and they are throwing them back to war.\u201d <\/p>\n
He described the policy as a \u201cone way ticket,\u201d perhaps designed to reduce compensation payouts for families. \u201cThey pay 3 million rubles for some injury. They\u2019re sending cripples back to the front\u2026 to avoid paying money. If the person is missing, the family doesn\u2019t get paid money. For the proof, a body is needed, and if there\u2019s no body, that\u2019s it, sorry, goodbye.\u201d <\/p>\n
Among the documents, a medical report detailing significant head and body injuries on one Russian who had been sent back to fight. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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