The story of a Russian officer who got involved in the war in Ukraine and didn’t even know it had started. A conflict that turns out to be very bloody for both sides and that has led the military to risk everything and get out of uniform.
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“They also took our phones away from us before sending us to Ukraine, we didn’t know anything and to be honest, I thought we weren’t going to Ukraine” So a Russian officer He told CNN in the days leading up to the invasion of Ukraine, when he and his group, along with thousands of other soldiers, began a war they didn’t even know had begun. A conflict that turns out to be very bloody for both sides and that has pushed the same military to risk everything and get out of uniform to no longer take part in the war that Putin wanted.
The man, who spoke anonymously and has now returned to Russia, was stationed with his group in Krasnodar, southern Russia, when he had to hand in his phone without any explanation on February 22, two days before the invasion. That night he and his comrades They spent hours painting white stripes on their vehicles Military. Then the counter-order came and they were told to wash them away. “The order has changed Draw the letter Z, as in Zorro “is the order that the Russian officer remembered.
The soldier, who was part of the Moscow troops assembled at the borders in western Russia before the invasion of Ukraine, confirmed that none of his group expected an attack. “The next day we were taken to Crimea. To be honest, I didn’t think we were going to Ukraine. I didn’t think it would come to this”said the officer. When his unit arrived in the Russian-annexed region of Ukraine in 2014, unbeknownst to them, President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion.
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Without radio, official communication or telephone, they had no contact with the outside world. Two days later they were sent to Ukraine and since then everything has changed for them. “Some guys have openly refused. They wrote a report and left. I don’t know what happened to them. I stayed,” the official revealed, adding, “Many didn’t understand what it was all for and what we’re doing.”
“The civilians received us very badly, some of them hid their guns under their clothes and as they got closer they fired. I held onto my gun and was in an aftershock state for the first week. I didn’t think of anything,” he admitted. The decision to rebel came when, after a few weeks, the officer was assigned closer to the rear, where he had access to communications and intelligence.
“I learned that shops in Russia are closing and the economy is collapsing. I felt guilty about that. But I felt even more guilty because we came to Ukraine. In the end I gathered my strength and I went to the commandant to write a letter of resignation “he told CNN, adding: “Finally I gathered my strength and went to the commander to write a letter of resignation.” The officer is now with his family: “I don’t know what happens next, but I’m glad to be home again.”