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Destroyed Russian tank near Izyum: Moscow's fighters withdraw
Photo: JUAN BARRETO / AFP
With a surprise offensive, Ukraine has made significant gains in the war against Russia.
Momentum is on Kiev's side.
How unexpected the Ukrainian advances in the east are can also be seen from the fact that some Russian soldiers fled in panic, leaving military equipment behind.
But Kiev's fighters not only found equipment in the recaptured areas, but also an insight into the inner life of their opponents - in the form of letters.
The Washington Post reports ten letters, apparently handwritten by Russian soldiers, that Ukrainian fighters found in a house in the city of Izyum and handed them over to the newspaper.
The letters are said to be addressed to the soldiers' superiors and dated August 30.
About ten days later, Ukraine took over the city.
The letters have not been independently checked for authenticity, according to the Washington Post.
But they were found in the belongings between boots and uniforms.
Photos of the documents are also circulating on social media.
Request for exemption
"Because of the lack of vacation days and moral exhaustion, I refuse to serve in the special operation on the territory of Ukraine," writes the commander of an anti-aircraft platoon from Moscow, according to the Washington Post.
Russia does not describe the war of aggression against Ukraine as a war, but still as a special operation.
Another soldier has asked for his release because his "health has deteriorated and I have not received the necessary medical attention".
According to the report, another writes that he is suffering from "physical and moral exhaustion".
Other soldiers complained that they were not getting any leave for their wedding or that they were not able to see the birth of their child.
Bad morals
The soldiers' words show how poor morale must have been on the ground.
According to The Washington Post, the letters are written in a similar style.
This suggests that the fighters had joined forces to express their displeasure.
It is not unlikely that the mood of many other fighters was similar and may have worsened in light of the losses.
According to the report, the Ukrainian soldiers also found letters from Russia intended to encourage the soldiers at the front.
Apparently they were written by children.
Thus, a girl named Nastya wrote: »Hello, I do not know who will receive this letter, but I know that you are going through a really difficult time right now.
That's why I want to support you.
It's possible that you're hungry, you're cold, you want to go home to your family, or maybe you want to go back to your childhood friends."
In further letters, the Russian propaganda at home becomes clear.
"You protect peaceful civilians, you fulfill the primary duty of every human being," writes a boy named Leonid. "I think that war is something very bad and frightening.
The death of innocent people, destruction, you can't lead a normal life, you don't have a home, you don't have a job and you lose your loved ones.
I hope you can persevere and achieve complete victory!
Much luck!
I believe in you!"
A cemetery with 440 graves was only discovered in Izyum on Thursday, and a grave with up to 25 dead Ukrainian soldiers is said to be there.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj initially spoke of a mass grave, but at the same time referred to further investigations.
From other places in the region there have been unverified reports about the discovery of murdered people for days.
After the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kyiv area in the spring, hundreds of dead civilians were discovered in the town of Bucha.
Despite overwhelming evidence, Moscow denied that Russian soldiers had killed the people and spoke of a Ukrainian staging.
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