Wednesday 14 September 2022 12:17 AM Vladimir Putin's forces 'are refusing to fight' and are surrendering, ... trends now
Russian soldiers are refusing to fight in Ukraine amid Moscow’s rising losses, it was claimed last night.
A lightning counter-offensive by Kyiv last week has pushed Vladimir Putin’s invaders right back to the border in parts of the north-east of the country, reclaiming huge swatches of territory lost in the early days of the war.
The blitz forced Russian troops to either flee or surrender en masse, with videos on social media purporting to show Moscow’s soldiers lying down in the road in front of Kyiv’s forces as they ‘understand the hopelessness of their situation’, Ukrainian military intelligence said.
The embarrassing turnaround was also said to be having an impact at home for Putin.
Videos from social media showed Russian troops lying face down in front of Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv
‘Learning about the number of dead [estimated to be up to 43,000], Russian troops are refusing to fight on the territory of Ukraine, payments to the wounded occupiers have been halted,’ said Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk.
‘The military command of the Russian Federation suspended the dispatch of new, already formed units to the territory of Ukraine,’ he added .
His claims were backed up by The Institute of War. The US think-tank said Kyiv’s gains in the north-east Kharkiv region ‘may be impacting the will or ability of the Russian military command to use newly formed volunteer units in Ukraine in a timely fashion’.
US intelligence officials told the Washington Post they expect to see further humiliating retreats made by Moscow’s armed forces.
A Ukrainian soldier, pictured yesterday, helps a fellow wounded soldier on the road in the now freed territory in the Kharkiv Region
‘The Russians are in trouble,’ one source said. ‘Their weaknesses have been exposed and they don’t have great manpower reserves or equipment reserves.’ Another senior Western official said it was ‘too early to say’ whether
