Vladimir Putin’s air force has fired at its own soldiers in the latest major gaffe for the Russian military.
According to NEXTA, Rostov air defences “accidentally” fired on Russian paratroopers at the Kuzminsky military training range.
The incident, which was shared widely on Telegram, reportedly happened as troops were engaged in a training exercise.
One of the operators of a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun thought one group of Russian soldiers was from the Ukrainian military.
Reports from the area suggest that two soldiers were killed in the accident marking the latest example of Russian soldiers firing on each other or Russian civilians.
At the start of the year, Putin’s military accidentally dropped a bomb on the Russian village of Petropavlovka in the Voronezh region.
Later, the Russian media described the act as “an emergency release” one that damaged several buildings. In a statement, the Russian Defence Ministry said: “On January 2, at about 09.00am, during a flight of a VKS aircraft over the village of Petropavlovka in the Voronezh region, an abnormal discharge of aircraft ammunition occurred.”
The ministry claimed that “no one was injured”, a claim repeated by Voronezh’s Governor Aleksandr Gusev. On Russia’s frontline evidence that the army is sending in troops without adequate training has emerged.
Footage of one soldier sharing the exact nature of his training has shocked people online. He claimed that he was sent “directly to the front line” after just three training sessions.
The man said: “There, I fired two or three times and, after four days, we were sent to slaughter, to war.
“We were told, ‘Now, you’ll just come and sit in defence. Stay a little bit. Strengthen positions, then you’ll immediately retreat.’
“As it turned out, we came, sat in defence for a day or two, and that was it. We were sent directly to the front line.”
Later the man was dismissed from the army because he was wounded during fighting. He claimed: “You’re nothing without a military ID.”
While the wounded are taken off the frontline, soldiers who choose not to fight or run into trouble for other reasons are locked in a pit. Footage has emerged of hundreds of soldiers stuck in a pit for weeks or months on end as punishment.
A video of the troops was shared by advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Anton Gerashchenko. He explained: To leave the “pit”, commanders demand to pay an amount ranging from $1,650 (£1,296.66) to $11,000 (£8644.40) a head. Reportedly, some soldiers have been there for months.
“Only a few get out of there – those who can sell an apartment or a car. The video was filmed by “commanders” of Russian “soldier-slaves” in the Bakhmut direction, Donetsk region.
