In an intercepted phone call, published by Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) on Tuesday, May 14, a Russian commander threatens a soldier that barrier troops will kill him and his comrades if they refuse to go on assault in the Kharkiv region.
“I am commander! Your command has given the go-ahead,” he says, adding that all the retreat routes are cut off, with barrier units ready to kill them if they attempt to escape.
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“Because they're going to be killed anyway if they try to escape. There are barrier troops behind them, so no one will come out alive. So, tell them to push forward. Tell them!"
“Ask the boys what I will do to you! Therefore, f**k it, don't be traitors! Look where Lucas told you to look. They'll meet you there,” the Russian commander adds.
He threatens the soldier that he will personally shoot him down with a D-30 howitzer if he takes a step back.
“You're going to die if you stay here. I'll personally put a D-30 on you, b***h! We have barrier troops here. No one will come out,” he says.
In some conversations recently intercepted by HUR, soldiers discuss ways to quit military service and avoid further deployment to the front line while in others, civilians worry about being conscripted.
One Russian soldier is overheard on a phone call saying that a portion of Moscow’s battalion defied orders and was currently “idle in the forest, not engaged in combat.”
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In another instance, Russian soldiers complain about not being given leave in almost two years and saying that “soon we’ll gather a crowd and head towards Russia.”
Last year, Kyiv Post interviewed Maria [surname withheld], who works for Ukrainian intelligence as a professional eavesdropper. She talked about some of the shocking things she heard.
Russia regularly dismisses the content of intercepted calls published by Ukraine, saying they are fake, a claim Maria denied.
She said: “Yes, they all are real even though they might seem insane. Sometimes I can’t believe the words I’m hearing myself, but we have what we have.”
Kyiv Post has previously reposted intercepted conversations that may violate Kremlin operational security and reveal the morale of Russian soldiers, their families, and ordinary citizens.
Follow these links for other examples:
‘Kyiv Never Bombed and Russians Are Dying’ – Russian Wife Complains About Kremlin
'Half a Battalion Escaped to The Forest' – Russian Soldier Blamed for Mass Refusal to Fight
'We Lost 600 Men’ – Russian Reveals Horrific Losses and Behavior On Frontlines
‘All Our Guys Were Slaughtered’ – Intercepted Phone Calls Suggest Huge Russian Losses
‘He Started Shooting Us!’ – Intercepted Phone Call Reveals Russian Friendly Fire Incident
‘We’ll Tear You Apart’ – Ukrainian Soldiers Are Trolling Russian Commanders on Telegram
‘War Until 2026’ - Russian Soldier Claims He’s Been Told To Expect 3 More Years of Fighting
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