“Russian POWs Describe ‘Nightmare’ of Combat in Ukraine”
“Soldiers captured by Ukrainian troops in the battle for Avdiivka tell of the high price their army is incurring for its grinding advance”
“As snow fell silently in a secret location in eastern Ukraine, the Russian infantrymen huddled on a garage floor, their hands dirty and their faces exhausted.
The men had been captured by Ukrainian troops during intense fighting for the city of Avdiivka. Now they waited to be sent to prisoner-of-war facilities, far from the front line.
Moscow’s fall offensive in Ukraine, of which Avdiivka is the primary target, is resulting in a steady flow of Russian POWs. Often, the captured men say they got lost and ended up among Ukrainians by mistake. Voluntary surrender is a crime in Russia.
Many of their comrades were less fortunate. Fields and factory districts around Avdiivka are littered with dead Russian infantry, sent to attack Ukrainian positions in costly frontal assaults.”
How many more are you gonna post to yourself?
Lets see how RuZZian society feels about the war when year 10 of the war comes around and casualties exceed 2 million.
“Alternate Reality: How Russian Society Learned to Stop Worrying About the War”
“In the nearly two years since Russia launched its “special military operation” against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russian society has gotten used to living against the backdrop of a brutal armed conflict. A significant part of the population has reconciled itself to the idea that they will be living under the current state of affairs for quite some time, and that they must therefore adjust to reality, which ordinary Russians are in any case unable—and often unwilling—to change.
All the naïve predictions that popular discontent triggered by sanctions and the wartime restrictions imposed on daily life would bring down Vladimir Putin’s regime have come to nothing. In many ways, quite the opposite has happened. Most Russians might not identify with the regime, but they have consolidated around the Kremlin, which they believe to be fighting tooth and nail against a West that is seeking to destroy Russia. Despite the fact that such a depiction is at odds with reality, a great many Russians have accepted it as the most logical explanation for this protracted nightmare.
Naturally, some Russians are unhappy with the situation. Millions of people are opposed to authoritarianism and bloodshed, and some of them openly express their views and resist. There are also those known as “turbo-patriots,” who earnestly and aggressively support Putin. But the vast majority is apathetic, and simply passively and automatically “mostly supports” what the regime is doing while waiting for “all this” to end. This part of the population has chosen to become apathetic: their condition can be referred to as “learned indifference.” Putin is a legitimate leader in such people’s eyes, so his “special military operation” must be too. The next ritual imitation of a presidential election in March 2024 will surely confirm that there is no alternative to Putin. The apathetic majority can do little but wait for this difficult time to pass.”