As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year Tuesday, February 24, four former Russian soldiers have reportedly come forward to share their accounts, exposing the brutality of war and the perils of refusing to follow orders on the other side.
From comrades being executed by commanders, to electrocutions, and men being starved in pits, the soldiers shared harrowing stories of torture, humiliation and near-death experiences with the BBC.
One soldier said he saw a fellow soldier executed on the order of his commander, who was made a “Hero of Russia” in 2024. He also recalled witnessing 20 bodies lying in a ditch after being “zeroed”, a Russian military slang for executing your own.
Another soldier, who identified and counted the dead, said he saw his commander shoot four men himself. “I remember one of them screaming, ‘Don’t shoot, I’ll do anything,’” he said.
Soldiers would also be sent to ‘meat storms’
Soldiers would also be sent to “meat storms” – a tactic that involves sending waves of men across the front line to wear down Ukrainian forces.
Before the war, Ilya, 35, taught children with special needs and autism in Kungur, in the Ural Mountains. He was drafted in May 2024, as police turned up at his parents’ house and told him he was being called up.
Mobilised along with 78 others, all of whom have perished, Ilya recalled, “I was watching them and thinking ‘How did I end up here?’ I was so scared.”
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He said he did not want to shoot or kill anyone, and ended up at a command post, tasked with identifying and counting dead soldiers. He says he was tortured and urinated on because of his decision. Others in his unit who refused would be electrocuted, starved and then forced into meat storms unarmed, he said.
Ilya said he witnessed four people getting shot at point-blank range by their commander in Donetsk — a part of Ukraine’s industrial heartland Moscow is fighting for, and the reason behind the recurring deadlocks in peace talks.
Another soldier, Denis, said he saw commanders sending one wave after another, “throwing men like meat at the Ukrainians, so they run out of ammo and drones, and another wave can reach their objective”.
Dima, 34, lived with his wife and daughter and worked in Moscow as a dishwasher repairman before being drafted in October 2022. He recalled police threatening to send him to jail if he refused to go to the frontline.
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A member of the 25th Brigade, Dima said several were killed on the orders of his commander, Alexei Ksenofontov, who was awarded the Gold Star, the highest state medal, and made a “Hero of Russia” in 2024.
‘Too much blood on Putin’s hands’
In a joint letter to President Vladimir Putin in January 2025, the families of Ksenofontov’s alleged victims appealed to look into the accusations. Dima said there’s “too much blood on his hands.”
Dima said he didn’t want to kill, so he joined a paramedic unit despite having no medical experience.
Electrocuted and tortured for 72 days
He said he refrained from sending men into meat storms after his promotion. He was arrested by the military police because of this decision and was sent to a makeshift prison where he was electrocuted and tortured for 72 days.
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A former officer, who served the Russian military for 17 years, said he spoke to a man who had helped kill a group of high-ranking officers as part of a “liquidation” process to finish any survivors. “I’ve never seen anything like this during all my years of service,” he said.
According to the UK’s Ministry of Defence, over 1.2 million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the invasion on 24 February 2022. An estimated 900-1,500 Russians were killed or wounded in Ukraine every day in 2025, the report said.
The third round of trilateral negotiations ended last week without a breakthrough. Moscow has been pressing Kyiv to withdraw from Donbas, a condition Kyiv says it will never accept.
The Donbas refers collectively to Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.
(With inputs from BBC)
