Russian tanks near the Olenivka settlement in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on July 29. Students of a military school write letters to Ukrainian soldiers during a lesson in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 27. Firefighters rest as their colleagues clear debris during the search for bodies at the Central House of Culture, in Chuhuiv, Ukraine, following an airstrike on July 25. A man holds the hand of his 13-year-old son, who was killed by a Russian military strike, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on July 20.
Members of Ukraine fire a projectile from an FH-70 towed howitzer on the front line in the Donbas region, Ukraine, on July 18. Local residents watch as smoke rises after shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine, on July 7. An injured woman is carried in an ambulance in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on July 7. A farmer drives a combine harvester in front of a crater suspected to have been caused by an airstrike near Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on July 7. A Ukrainian soldier with the 14th Prince Roman the Great Mechanized Brigade works on his tank as the unit awaits its next mission on July 1. People attend a funeral for Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr Kochetov, 46, in the village of Babyntsi, Ukraine, on June 30. Firefighters clear the debris at the Amstor shopping center in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine, on June 28. An apartment building in the Shevchenkivskiy district of Kyiv, Ukraine, was damaged during a Russian airstrike on June 26. Several explosions rocked the west of the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday, with at least two residential buildings hit, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. People light flares in memory of Ukrainian activist Roman Ratushnyi during a farewell ceremony at Baikove Cemetery, Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 18. A Ukrainian bomb disposal expert looks at an artillery shell during a mine clearance operation in Solonytsivka, near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on June 15. Ukrainian soldiers fire a French CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzer at Russian positions in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region on June 15. Russian soldiers guard an area of ​​the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on June 13. Local residents walk on an empty street as smoke rises in the background in the city of Lysychansk, Ukraine, on June 10. A Ukrainian soldier holds a next-generation light anti-tank weapon (NLAW) at a front-line position near Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donbas region on June 5. U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, left, listens to Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktov during a tour of Borodyanka, Ukraine, on June 4. Local residents examine a damaged Russian tank outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31. It has been 100 days since the Russian invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, third from left, visits frontline positions during a trip to the Kharkiv region on Sunday, May 29. Ukrainian soldiers fire mortars at Russian positions in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region on May 17. A woman named Tatyana searches for her husband’s grave in the settlement of Staryi Krym, outside Mariupol, on May 15. Ukrainian personnel work inside a basement used as a command post in the Kharkiv region on May 15. Grieving relatives attend the funeral of Pankratov Oleksandr, a Ukrainian soldier, in Lviv, Ukraine, on May 14. A Ukrainian soldier and emergency workers carry the body of a Russian soldier onto a refrigerated train in Kharkiv on May 5. The bodies of more than 40 Russian soldiers were kept in the refrigerated car. Smoke rises from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on May 5. Natalia Pototska cries next to her grandson Matviy as they arrive at a displaced persons center in Zaporizhzhia on May 2. Pro-Russian troops stand guard next to a bus carrying displaced people near a temporary accommodation center in the Ukrainian village of Bezimen on May 1. A man stands on the balcony of his apartment after a rocket attack damaged a residential building in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on April 30. Guterres speaks during his meeting with Zelensky on April 28. A member of the International Atomic Energy Agency team arrives at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 26. Russian forces withdrew from Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, in March. Maria, 13, holds a photo of her father, Yuri Alekseev, as she and her godfather, Igor Tarkovsky, attend Alekseev’s funeral in Bukha, Ukraine, on April 26. Alekseev, 50, was a member of the territorial defense who was killed by Russian soldiers, according to his family. A couple looks at a monument in Lviv on April 24. The wall shows Ukrainian civilians killed during the Russian invasion. Women walk between sandbags and anti-tank barricades in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, to watch the blessing of traditional Easter food baskets on April 23. Members of the Ukrainian Red Cross speak before carrying an elderly woman into an ambulance in a warehouse under a factory in Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on April 22. A woman who recently evacuated Mariupol cries after arriving at an IDP registration center in Zaporizhia on April 21. Vova, 10, looks at the body of his mother, Maryna, lying in a coffin as his father, Ivan, prays during her funeral in Bucha on April 20. He died during the Russian occupation of the city, as the family was sheltering in the cold basement for more than a month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, speaks with European Council President Charles Michel during a meeting in Kyiv on April 20. A Ukrainian soldier stands next to a multiple launch rocket system in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on April 20. Firefighters work in Lviv after a Russian missile hit a civilian building on April 18. Smoke rises above Mariupol on April 18. Women clean inside a damaged building at the Vizar military-industrial complex in Vyshneve, Ukraine, on April 15. The site, on the outskirts of Kiev, was hit by Russian strikes. Firefighters work on a burning building in Kharkiv after a rocket attack near Kharkiv International Airport on April 12. Mourners react in Stebnyk, Ukraine, during the funeral ceremony of Ukrainian soldier Roman Tiaka. Tiaka was 47. Ukrainian forces fire rockets at Russian positions in Ukraine’s Donbas region on April 10. Search and rescue teams remove debris after the Ukrainian military regained control of Borodianka, Ukraine, on April 6. People wait to board a train as it leaves Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on April 5. Anna Zelisko touches the coffin of her grandson, Ukrainian soldier Dmitry Zelisko, as he arrives for his funeral in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on April 3. He died fighting the Russian army near Kharkiv. Bodies are found on a street in Bucha on April 2. Images captured by Agence France-Presse showed at least 20 civilians dead. A Ukrainian soldier stands with a handcuffed Russian soldier in Kharkiv on March 31. A satellite image shows a bombed warehouse used by the Red Cross in Mariupol on March 29. A woman named Julia cries next to her 6-year-old daughter, Veronika, while speaking to the press in Brovary, Ukraine, on March 29. An armored convoy of pro-Russian troops travels on a road leading to Mariupol on March 28. A volunteer weaves a bulletproof vest in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 28. A woman lights a candle during Sunday service at a monastery in Odessa on March 27. A Ukrainian soldier stands in a heavily damaged building in Stoyanka, Ukraine, on March 27. Orphaned children travel by train after fleeing the Russian-controlled city of Polohy, Ukraine, on March 26. A man retrieves items from a burning shop after a Russian attack in Kharkiv on March 25. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses world leaders via video at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium on March 24. Zelensky stopped short of his usual call for a no-fly zone, but said Ukraine needed fighter jets, tanks and better air defenses. A child holds a Ukrainian flag in front of the monument to Taras Shevchenko as members of the Ukrainian National Guard Band perform in Lviv on March 24. A firefighter sprays water inside a house destroyed by shelling in Kyiv on March 23. Svetlana Ilyukhina looks at the wreckage of her home in Kyiv after a Russian missile attack on March 23. “First there was smoke and then everything went black,” he said. The photos are seen among the ruins of a house in Kyiv on March 23. A woman cleans a room March 21 in a building damaged by shelling in Kyiv. The Retroville shopping center is seen in Kyiv after the Russian bombing on March 21. People share dinner and sing “Happy Birthday” during a celebration in Kyiv on March 20. This studio space has been turned into a bomb shelter for about 25 artists volunteering to help the war effort.
Former Ukrainian MP Tetiana Chornovol, now a member of the service and a guided anti-tank missile system operator, examines a Russian tank she destroyed in a recent battle near Kiev. A Ukrainian soldier stands among the debris after a shelling of a residential area in Kyiv on March 18. Staff members tend to a child at a children’s hospital in Zaporizhia on March 18. An elderly woman is helped by police officers after being rescued from a bombed-out apartment in Kyiv on March 15. Firefighters work to put out flames in an apartment building in Kyiv on March 15. A woman walks past a damaged window to place flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims in Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 15. Ukrainian soldiers take cover from incoming artillery fire in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 13. A Ukrainian soldier surveys a damaged government building in Kharkiv on March 13. A mother and son rest in Lviv, Ukraine, while waiting to board the train to Poland on March 12. A firefighter works to put out flames after a chemical warehouse was hit by…

title: “Russian Paratrooper Condemns His Country S War In Ukraine " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “Minnie Wilson”

Two weeks ago, Pavel Filatyev spoke out against the conflict in a 141-page-long testimony posted to his VKontakte social media page, then fled Russia. He is the first serving member of the Russian military to publicly criticize the invasion of Ukraine and leave the country.
Now he tells CNN that his fellow troops as tired, hungry and disillusioned — and that the Kremlin’s war effort is “destroying peaceful lives.”
“We understood that we were dragged into a serious conflict where we are simply destroying towns and not actually liberating anyone,” Filatyev said. CNN is not disclosing the location of the interview for the security of the interviewee.
Complete coverage of the war in Ukraine”Many understood that we do not see the reason that our government is trying to explain to us. That all of it is a lie,” he said. “We are just destroying peaceful lives. This fact immensely influenced our morale. That feeling that we are not doing anything good.”
Filatyev, 33, said “corruption” and repression are rife in his home country and said his unit — which was based in Crimea and sent to Ukraine entering Kherson early in the conflict — was ill-equipped and given little explanation for Russia’s invasion.
According to Filatyev, the soldiers and their commanders did not know what they were expected to do in Ukraine. He added that they soon became disillusioned with the government’s reasoning for its invasion after arriving in Kherson and facing resistance from locals who did not want to be “liberated.”
The paratrooper served in Russia’s 56th air assault regiment and was also involved in efforts to capture the city of Mykolaiv. He was evacuated from the front lines because of an injury.
He said the Russian army lacked basic equipment, as well as drones and other types of unmanned aircraft during his stint on the front line.
“Our barracks are about 100 years old and are not able to host all of our servicemen … all of our weapons are from the times of Afghanistan,” he said.
“Several days after we encircled Kherson many of us did not have any food, water or sleeping sacks on them,” he said. “Because it was very cold at night, we couldn’t even sleep. We would find some rubbish, some rags, just to wrap ourselves to keep warm.”
The capture of Kherson was a significant early military success for Russia. Ukraine is now battling to regain the city as fighting increasingly shifts to the country’s south.
But Filatyev said he struggles to understand the vision of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine nearly six months ago and has seen his troops locked in a grinding, costly conflict.
“Now that I am out of there and without a gun, I think this is the worst, stupidest thing our government could have done,” he said. “I do not know where the government is leading us. What is the next step? Nuclear war?”
“I see what is happening to my country and I am terrified. Everything is destroyed, corrupted,” he said. “The only laws that function well are repressive ones.”
Filatyev fled Russia after conducting some initial media interviews. But he suggested the Kremlin could take revenge for his public position.
“I will either be put in prison … or they will just silence me by taking me out. There were a lot of cases like that in the past,” he said.
“I do not see any other way out. If it happens, it happens.”