This is the search for the remains of Ukraine's fallen heroes 4:34
(CNN) --
Russian troops have denounced an "incomprehensible battle" in Donetsk after apparently suffering heavy losses during a week of heavy fighting in the key region of eastern Ukraine.
Moscow has been trying to break through Kyiv's defenses around the town of Pavlivka for at least the past seven days, but appears to have made little progress with up to 300 men killed in action, according to an open letter posted on a prominent Russian military blog on Monday. .
Men from Russia's Pacific Fleet's 155th Marine Brigade launched scathing criticism at a top Russian official in a rare show of defiance, accusing authorities of "hiding" casualty numbers "for fear of accountability." .
The letter, purportedly sent from the front lines to a Russian regional governor, came amid Moscow's faltering offensive in a region that President Vladimir Putin claimed to have illegally annexed just over a month ago.
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"Once again, General Muradov and his brother-in-law, his compatriot Akhmedov, got us into an incomprehensible battle so that Muradov can earn bonuses that make him look good in the eyes of Gerasimov (chief of the Russian General Staff)," the men said. in the note, sent to the governor of Primorsky Krai.
"As a result of the 'carefully' planned offensive by the 'big commanders', we have lost some 300 men, killed and wounded, and some missing in action in the last four days."
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"We have lost 50% of our equipment. That is only in our brigade. The district command, together with Akhmedov, are hiding these facts and skewing the official casualty statistics for fear of being held accountable."
They implored Governor Oleg Kozhemyako: "How long will mediocre people like Muradov and Akhmedov be allowed to continue planning military actions just to keep up appearances and win prizes at the cost of so many people's lives?"
Russian soldiers blamed a senior military official for "skewing official casualty statistics" in an area of eastern Ukraine "for fear of accountability."
Credit: Iryna Rybakova/Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters
"The Blood Keeps Spilling"
Russian military commentators have also criticized the army's approach in Donetsk.
"The situation in Pavlivka has been discussed at the highest level for several days, and blood continues to be spilled," Aleksandr Sladkov, a Russian military journalist who works for Russian State Television and Radio, said on Telegram.
"The troops say that there is now a dilemma: exhausted units cannot be withdrawn without new ones being brought in. There are no fresh units and no possibility to withdraw and replace them due to constant firing," Russian military journalist Alexey Sukonkin, also in Telegram.
Russian forces withdraw from a strategic city of Donetsk a day after Moscow's annexation of the region
"Why do we withdraw from Pavlivka and have to recapture it now?"
said Aleksander Khodakovsky, a Russian-backed commander of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, criticizing Moscow's tactical approach in the region.
Khodakovsky said that the Russian troops had been using the cellars as defensive positions, which meant they had not seen a flanking move by the Ukrainians.
“That's why quite a few Marines, including company commanders, were taken prisoner then.
Not because they were weak in spirit, but because they were held hostage by their defense organization," Khodakovsky said, adding that Ukrainian reconnaissance troops had used tall buildings in nearby Vuhledar and cameras set on top of wells to guide artillery attacks.
"Pavlivka's defenders will be held hostage again. Supplies and rotations will be difficult, it will be impossible to move through Pavlivka," he said.
CNN was unable to verify how many soldiers signed the letter or their ranks, but Gov. Kozhemyako confirmed that he had received a letter from the unit.
"We got in touch with our Navy commanders on the front lines. They are men who have been in combat since the beginning of the operation," the governor said on Telegram.
Kozhemyako added that the combat commander had stressed that the deaths of the (Primorsky) troops were greatly exaggerated.
"I also know firsthand that our fighters showed in Pavlivka, as well as throughout the special military operation, true heroism and unprecedented courage. We inflicted heavy damage on the enemy."
Kozhemyako said that the complaint filed by the soldiers had been sent to the military prosecutor's office.
Russia's Defense Ministry issued a rare public response to criticism of the military operation in Donetsk, denying that its forces suffered "high and useless losses in people and equipment."
Russia's losses in the Vuhledar and Pavlivka area of the Donetsk region "do not exceed 1% of combat troops and 7% of wounded, a significant part of whom have already returned to duty," the ministry said on Monday, according to the Russian state agency TASS.
The Russian-backed military has said that Ukrainian forces are weakening the Kremlin's offensive in the Donetsk region.
Credit: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
The "epicenter" of the battle
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fierce battle for Donetsk "remains the epicenter of the occupiers' greatest madness" and refuted Kozhemyako's claims that Moscow's losses "are not that great."
"They are dying by the hundreds every day," Zelensky added.
"The ground in front of the Ukrainian positions is literally strewn with the corpses of the occupants."
Noting that the governor was some 9,000 kilometers from the front lines, Zelensky said: "The governor can probably better see from there how many military men and in what way are sent to the slaughter from his region. Or he was simply ordered to lie."
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Social media and drone videos from the past few days show numerous Russian tanks and other armored vehicles being attacked around Pavlivka, which is about 50 kilometers southwest of Donetsk and has been on the front lines for several months.
The Ukrainian military released footage showing two Russian T-72B tanks and three BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles hit by Ukrainian artillery and anti-tank systems, with top brass referring to repelled attacks from heavy shelling in the area.
"The enemy is missing the opportunity to put its plans into practice," Oleksii Hromov, deputy chief of the Operations Directorate of the Ukrainian General Staff, said Thursday.
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