Vladimir Putin is facing a catastrophic breakdown in military discipline, after reports emerged of Russian soldiers turning their guns on one another in drunken showdowns. The Russian army has been beset by persistent problems of low morale and poor discipline. Soldiers have recounted numerous incidents of drunken behaviour and casual brutality among officers and troops.
In the latest incident, a soldier from the 392nd motorised rifle regiment described to the media outlet “Caution, News” scenes of chaos and anarchy among the troops.
He said: “The soldiers are drinking and constantly stabbing each other and fighting with rifle butts.”
The soldier blamed his commander for the wretched state of his regiment, saying the “fish rots from the head”.
He said: “He constantly talks drunk on the radio, swears obscenities and threatens to shoot someone.
“From the first day we arrived, he threatened to shoot us.”
He added that the commanding officer had beaten his soldiers on more than one occasion.
The disillusioned soldier then alleged that a soldier had been murdered by one of his colleagues, following an argument.
He recounted: “Even before the New Year, there was the 200th one: drunken showdowns in the forest belt.
“They say that the man came up to his offenders with someone else’s machine gun and got a bullet in the head.
“It’s all being hushed up, so it’s hard to find out the details.
“But the fact that they came to pick up his body, I myself heard on the radio.”
This is not the first time that soldiers from the regiment have gone public with their criticisms.
READ MORE: Heir to former French President de Gaulle makes embarrassing war claim
It comes amid further reports of Russian conscripts being forcibly made to sign long-term military contracts.
Relatives of mobilised soldiers from the 346th regiment claimed the men were dumped in a forest without any provisions.
A woman told Astra News, an independent Russian media outlet: “My husband and his colleagues were taken out on January 22 in an unknown direction.
“They were left in the forest under the open sky, cut off from security.
“They drink from the spring. They slept on the ground, laid sticks, made huts and were forced to sign contracts.”
