Pavel Filatiev, who served in the 56th Air Assault Regiment, recently published a damning 141-page account of his experiences on the front line. In the document he published this month on the Russian social media channel VKontakte, the 34-year-old, who took part in the successful offensive to take Kherson, described the war as “madness”. “We had no moral right to attack another country, especially the people closest to us,” he said. After being evacuated from Ukraine with an eye infection, Mr Filatyev recovered in Russia, which he then fled several weeks ago fearing for his safety. Speaking to CNN from an undisclosed location, the former soldier sharply criticized Vladimir Putin’s war. “We’ve been dragged into this serious conflict where we’re just destroying cities and not liberating anyone. These are all lies. We are just destroying peaceful lives,” he told the US television station. Filatiev, who became the first active-duty Russian soldier to publicly denounce the invasion, said he felt “guilty” for being “used as an instrument” by Moscow in a war that “doesn’t even benefit Russia.” He also talked about how well-equipped Russian troops were, saying his unit lacked adequate food, water and sleeping bags. During his time in southern Ukraine, he said he saw his colleagues stealing laptops and other high-priced goods from Ukrainian stores. While he disapproved of their actions, he explained that they were driven to steal because of their “bad” quality of life in Russia, a country he said had been ravaged by “corruption.” Speaking about his own future, he said he feared being jailed or killed by Russian security forces. “I don’t see any other way out. If it happens, it will happen,” he said.
