A Russian army soldier stands next to local residents who queue for humanitarian aid delivered during Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine March 23, 2022.
A Russian army soldier stands next to local residents who queue for humanitarian aid delivered during Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine March 23, 2022. Reuters / ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO

KEY POINTS

  • The Russian soldier said his comrades raped women after being surrounded by Ukraine's army in Donetsk
  • The soldier also said their commanders are threatening anyone who wants to leave with a firing squad
  • More than 55,100 Russian soldiers have now died in the war

A Russian soldier has admitted that some of his comrades have raped Ukrainian women to vent their anger over losing against Kyiv's army, a new recording showed.

The Russian soldier, whose identity was not revealed, added that his comrades were raping Ukrainian women as a way to take out their despair and hatred over being surrounded by Kyiv's military in Donetsk Oblast, according to a recording of an intercepted phone call released by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) on Tuesday.

"Everyone hates us here. Our soldiers rape these women," the soldier was heard saying. "We're done. All our battalion has been killed."

The Russian soldier also revealed that he wanted to leave the battlefield and return home. However, he said Moscow was not allowing soldiers to rotate units or take vacations. He also accused his commanders of threatening soldiers who want to leave the war with a firing squad.

"It's a total f**king disaster. I'm done! I've lost the nerve. I want to go home, I can't!" he added.

The recording comes as Ukraine's army continues to push Russian forces out of occupied territories during their counteroffensive operations. The Ukrainian army has also continued to hit Russian defenses, killing at least 300 soldiers on Wednesday. Moscow's army has now lost a total of 55,110 soldiers since the beginning of the war, according to estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Russia's dwindling military personnel and territories have pushed President Vladimir Putin to announce a new campaign that would call up about 300,000 reservists to the military as part of a "partial mobilization."

"Today our Armed Forces are operating on the contact line that exceeds 1,000 kilometers, confronting not only neo-Nazi units, but in fact the entire war machine of the collective west," Putin said during his national address, as translated by Mediazona.

"In order to protect our homeland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to ensure the security of our people and the people in the liberated territories, I believe it necessary to support the proposal of the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff to hold a partial mobilization in the Russian Federation."

During the speech, Putin issued a threat of using nuclear weapons in the war, adding that his warning is "not a bluff." He also reaffirmed his support for referendums in occupied territories in Ukraine. The annexation of the territories could come as soon as next week.

Putin Announces Partial Mobilization Of Roughly 300,000 In Russian Reserve
Putin Announces Partial Mobilization Of Roughly 300,000 In Russian Reserve