Foot fire, panic and burnout: Ukrainians also report distress at the front

Created: 11/30/2022, 4:59 p.m

By: Florian Naumann

A “mental war of attrition” is underway in Ukraine before winter: the defenders are also complaining about their distress.

Morale could decide the war in the end.

Kyiv – Complaints from Russian soldiers and their relatives can be heard again and again during the Ukraine war: Poor training, miserable equipment and even suicide missions are among the reported abuses.

But the fighters are also suffering on the Ukrainian side.

A major difference could be the motivation of the people in uniform - military experts have pointed this out again and again.

An open letter from a historian with a doctorate on a front-line mission in Ukraine might provide a vivid example.

The US

, among others, reported on the letter on Wednesday (November 30) .

However, the authenticity has not been verified.

There is little doubt about other impressive reports, such as the painful side effects of trench warfare.

Or mental exhaustion on the Ukrainian side.

A Ukrainian soldier in a trench in the Zaporizhia region - the photo was allegedly taken in early November.

© IMAGO/Dmytro Smolienko

Ukrainians complain of suffering at the front - and explain the reasons for allegedly unbroken morale

The latter relegated Nazar Raslutskyj, the author of the letter from the Ukrainian side of the front, to the realm of fables.

Despite drastic descriptions of everyday war life.

He reported death and loss: fellow soldiers were killed by rockets, bullets, cluster bombs or phosphorus ammunition.

"Some of them are already dead. And some will never return to their jobs because they are burned out," says the letter, first published by the

portal .

“But all of them will keep fighting.

Because Ukraine is behind them.

Because if they lay down their arms, their parents will be killed, their wives and daughters will be raped, and their homes will be destroyed and confiscated,” Raslutskyj reportedly wrote.

Politicians from France or Germany, for example, pointed out that capitulation was an option, and he stressed that this provoked “anger and deep disgust”.

“Weapons, money, sanctions” are needed.

The alleged front-line eyewitness thus underscores the demands of the Kiev government.

There is no lack of motivation, the letter goes on to say: "We have historians who are willing to sleep in shacks for five people in two bunk beds and trample in the mud for weeks without an opportunity to wash themselves." young students" are in the process of "spending their best years in fear of death".

In fact, the mud is more than a cosmetic problem: Other reports have described the return of World War I diseases in Ukrainian trenches.

Ukraine war: foot fire and a "life in the swamp"

Soldiers told the AFP news agency that many units were beginning to suffer from footburn.

The condition, also known as "ditch foot", is caused "by wearing wet, cold socks or shoes for several days", according to the medical website

.

In addition to pain, blisters and numbness, infections could also be among the consequences.

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"The infantry" - the group of soldiers moving and fighting - is "the heart of every army and they suffer a lot," a 24-year-old Ukrainian soldier told AFP in Donbass.

“Your shoes are always wet.

They only sleep very sporadically.

Sometimes they have problems with the food supply," he said.

Another said: "I'm suffering from the rain.

We literally live in a swamp.” These problems could be exacerbated in winter.

Nevertheless, a soldier also assured the news agency: "Our morale is extremely high".

The reporters in the heavily contested region even heard of a counter-offensive.

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Ukraine's soldiers in war against Russia's attackers: 'It hurts my soul'

But in the long run, it could be difficult to keep said morale high.

Anton Pendukh, a "morale officer" in the Ukrainian army, told US broadcaster NPR in eastern Ukraine.

There are battalions that have lost more than half of their members.

“Some people from these branches need psychological help as a result.

Very serious psychological help.” Pendukh himself also reported problems with what he experienced on the battlefield: “When I see this with my own eyes, it hurts my soul.

I know all of this is happening, but when I see it..." Those involved would "never be the same".

A psychologist from the Zaporizhia region also told the broadcaster that bad morals were "contagious".

The demand from commanders for psychological support for the soldiers had increased as the war progressed.

She looked after more than 100 fighters.

Younger soldiers would have fewer scruples about talking about panic attacks.

But the biggest problem is self-reproach, for example when family members die.

"I was in the wrong place, I should have been there," is a common self-accusation.

Ukraine: "Mental war of attrition" at the front - "Fear is more contagious than Covid"

The

had already declared the Ukraine war a "mental war of attrition" in a correspondent report from the Cherson region in mid-October.

Ukraine is also affected by this – for example in view of the brigades that have been deployed continuously since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Soldiers reported high losses or lack of strength and resources to the paper.

A lack of training is also an issue on the Ukrainian side.

A look at an improvised sleeping quarters of the Ukrainian army in a trench - in summer.

© IMAGO/Antonin Burat / Le Pictorium

In the end, morale and motivation could decide the war.

At least that's what the political scientist and Gulf War participant Jeff McCausland recently explained to the US broadcaster CNN.

Russia threatens a "silent capitulation" of its soldiers.

It is often decisive whether an army believes in the reason for its mission.

That seemed to be in question early on in Putin's troops.

"Fear and panic are more contagious than Covid," emphasized McCausland at the same time.

Reports of huge losses by the Russian army could also play a role.

And Ukrainian soldiers recently reported about their counterparts: "They treat them like disposable soldiers".

But the outcome remains to be seen.

Russian attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure could hit the entire country badly in winter.

Or even increase the anger of the combatants.

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