Deserters fleeing Vladimir Putin’s frontline “gunned down a military police platoon commander and two of his subordinates”, it has been claimed. The refuseniks then fled the scene, located in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, part of Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders, according to reports.
Gruesome pictures show three bodies at the scene near Nyzhnia Duvanka village. Russia has not yet commented officially on the alleged massacre. A hunt has been launched for the escapees, it is understood. Russia is reported to be experiencing a rising number of soldiers refusing to fight on Putin’s “meat grinder” frontline.
This is not the first incident in which Russian troops have opened fire on each other.
In June 2023, a leaked video from the battlefield showed three armed Russian soldiers shooting at least seven of their fellow servicemen who were attempting to flee.
The 14-second drone clip was first shown on the volunteer-run Ukrainian station Ishi Svoikh, which works to support the families of Russian servicemen killed in action. Desertion has been a persistent problem for the Russian army since thousands of troops were sent to take Kyiv in February 2022.
Some soldiers on leave in Russia have reportedly gone into hiding to avoid going back to the frontline. In 2024, a flyer produced by Russian officials and distributed to the army highlighted court cases brought against soldiers from the 1195 motorised rifle regiment.
A total of 115 soldiers failed to return from army leave and were called to trial. The soldiers were charged according to article 337 of the Russian criminal code for the “unauthorised abandonment of a unit” – a crime punishable by a decade in prison.
In May 2024, Ukraine’s Intelligence agency claimed that over 18,000 soldiers of the Southern Military District had absconded. Roughly 12,000 of them were serving in the 8th Combined Arms Army – a unit often deployed to eastern Ukraine.