A Russian prisoner of war, sent to the front after a stint in prison, told the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal that the Russian army is ready to sacrifice infantry units in exchange for a slow and limited expansion of the captured territories in Ukraine.
The publication describes Vyacheslav Kudryashev as a man with a partially amputated right arm and two titanium plates in his skull. Despite his serious injuries, he returned to the front after being convicted of drug possession.
According to the WSJ, for four days last year, Kudryashev participated in an infantry attack near Kremenna, the goal of which was to push the Russian forces' front line by just a few dozen meters.
According to his story, commanders sent him and another soldier to a wooded area, where they had to hold out long enough for other units to reinforce them.
However, the operation failed after Kudryashev lost his radio while trying to avoid Ukrainian drones with explosives. Left without contact with his unit and with no clear idea of his location, he and his companion were discovered and captured by Ukrainian troops.
The WSJ notes that amid the massive use of Ukrainian drones, Russia has largely limited large-scale attacks with armored vehicles. Instead, small groups of infantry have been sent into the so-called "gray zone" between the positions of the two armies — often in operations with minimal chances of survival.
According to the publication, this tactic has allowed Russian forces to achieve limited territorial gains — about three square miles per day — but at the cost of heavy losses.
"Russia's hesitant offensive suggests that the capture of Donbas could take years and cost hundreds of thousands of lives," the American newspaper writes.
In his interview, Kudryashev also claims that, according to many Russian servicemen, the war has become a kind of "cleansing campaign" of the lowest social strata — homeless, dependents and prisoners sent to the front.
The material appears against the backdrop of continuing heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine and increased pressure from Russia for a gradual offensive in the Donbas region.