US EditionRussian soldiers tell BBC they saw fellow troops executed on commanders' orders
Four former Russian soldiers describe commanders enforcing obedience through executions, torture, and 'meat storm' assaults, with UK MoD reporting up to 1,500 daily casualties in 2025.
- The BBC documentary The Zero Line put four Russian soldiers on record, saying commanders ordered executions, and they are now on the run.
- Commanders used a practice called `zeroing` to punish refusals and intimidate soldiers, with the term `zero` meaning executing your own in Russian-occupied Donetsk, witnesses say.
- Denis described `meat storms` where waves of men exhausted defenders, while Ilya reported torture including electrocution and commanders taking victims' bank cards.
- Families of dead soldiers appealed to President Vladimir Putin in January 2025, while commander Alexei Ksenofontov was awarded the Gold Star and named `Hero of Russia` in 2024.
- The UK's Ministry of Defence says more than 1.2 million Russian troops have been killed or injured since 24 February 2022, with 900-1,500 daily losses in 2025.
17 Articles
17 Articles
It is shocking what four Russian soldiers reveal about the practices and conditions in Vladimir Putin's army. Kremlin fighters report on executions, torture by their own commanders and cruel suicide missions.
A new documentary produced by the British broadcaster BBC, titled The Zero Line: Inside Russia’s War, brings the first open testimonies of Russian soldiers about executions within the ranks of the Russian army fighting in Ukraine. The British documentary filmmakers interviewed four soldiers in total, two of whom said they personally saw the killing of soldiers who disobeyed orders.
Dnevni list Danas
nin.rsSeveral Russian soldiers reveal to the BBC the horrors on the front in Ukraine.
The Independent
UpstractRussians describe senior officers ordering brutal execution of fellow soldiers
Russian soldiers told how they witnessed their comrades being killed at point-blank range on the order of senior commanders for refusing to be thrown into ‘meat storm’ missions in Ukraine
Some of the Russian troops seem to be inhumane. Thus, their own soldiers are to be executed again and again.
Several chilling testimonies of Russian soldiers reveal the daily brutality and horror within Putin's forces. ...
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