A Russian soldier was filmed beating his comrade with a metal bar in a horrific and violent assault. The incident happened following a failed attack on Poltava village, which ended in the Russian unit having to retreat.
Four soldiers from Russia’s 150th Motor Rifle Division were sent on a mission near Toretsk. Their goal was to establish a foothold in Poltavka, but encountered fierce Ukrainian resistance.
One soldier was injured in the firefight, and later died from his injuries in a medical field camp.
Two soldiers remained in their positions and returned fire, but the fourth retreated from the battlefield, leaving his comrades to slug it out with the Ukrainians.
The Russian soldiers eventually managed to retreat to safety and return to base, where they found their errant colleague.
One of them launched a furious attack on his deserting comrade, beating him to a pulp with a metal bar.
He repeatedly strikes his comrade on his legs and upper body, as the unfortunate soldier lies on the floor attempting to protect himself from the vicious blows.
Later the soldier who administered the brutal punishment was captured by Ukraine’s 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
They found the video on the soldier’s mobile phone and posted it to social media channels.
In a recorded video statement, the captured soldier warns Russians not to sign up to fight with Putin’s army.
“Don’t sign up. Better prison than this. You’ll either die, kill your own, or destroy families,” he said.
Russian commanders have acquired a grizzly reputation for treating their soldiers with utmost brutality.
One senior officer was filmed stripping down his soldiers, beating them with a baton, and forcing them to “trim the grass” with their fingers.
The video was shot at a barracks for the 13th Tank Regiment, 4th Guards Tank Division in Naro-Fominsk, Moscow region.