Vladimir Putin and his generals may have more to worry about than just the Ukrainians causing casualties on the front line because new leaked documents reveal the Kremlin’s own soldiers may be taking their own lives.
According to the files seized by Ukrainian forces during their surprise August incursion into Russia‘s Kursk region, Russian military chiefs were concerned about an attack and the morale among their own men.
The Guardian reports a cache of documents shows evidence of a Russian soldier taking their own life on the front line after a “prolonged state of depression due to his service in the Russian army”.
Express.co.uk has not been able to independently verify the files taken by Ukrainian forces, but it’s reported that the Russians were already fearing an assault by Ukraine into Kursk before it happened.
The revealing files will be more of a headache for President Putin and his Kremlin cabal who this week announced plans to increase the size of the Russian army by 180,000 soldiers to 1.5 million in strength.
But in a damning assessment the British Ministry of Defence said the 1.5 million figure was something the Russians had been trying to reach since the invasion started in 2022, but progress was being “hampered” by the rate of soldiers dying fighting in Ukraine.
The MoD said Russia had likely lost around 610,000 military personnel, either killed or wounded, since the invasion began, with recruitment levels dropping year-on-year.
Research by the BBC has suggested a definitive figure of around 70,000 confirmed dead fighting in the illegal invasion, which is still called a “Special Military Operation” by Moscow.
The Guardian says the documents which the Ukrainian forces claim they found asked Russian unit commanders to ensure soldiers stick to watching state media to maintain their “psychological condition”.
Detailing the Russian troop movements when the Ukraine attacked the Kursk region last month, a Ukrainian special forces source told the newspaper: “They ran away, without even evacuating or destroying their documents.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Washington next Thursday for talks with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as he presses for the US to allow Ukraine to use Western-provided weapons to strike deeper into Russia.
President Biden posted a message on X saying: “I’m looking forward to hosting my friend President Zelenskyy of Ukraine next week at the White House.
“During his visit, I’ll reaffirm America’s commitment to supporting Ukraine as it defends its freedom and independence.”