Russia ‘is setting up second line of troops behind the front line to SHOOT anyone fleeing combat’

Russia is reportedly in the process of setting up a second line behind the front line to shoot down Russian soldiers fleeing fighting, according to what Ukrainian intelligence services claim is an intercepted phone call.

The five-minute audio clip, released by Ukrainian intelligence, appears to capture internal rifts between Vladimir Putin’s men during their invasion of Ukraine, with some apparently forced to shoot deserters.

In the audio, described by Ukraine as an intercepted phone call between a Russian soldier and his wife, the man describes how his commander ordered him to “exterminate” all Russian troops fleeing the front lines.

The Russian soldier said new recruits, many of whom are prisoners, are on the front lines and his unit has been placed on second line to shoot anyone who tries to run away.

In the apparently intercepted phone call, the Russian soldier says to his wife: ‘They have moved us back to the second line, we are firing somewhere in front of us, but for now we are back in the trenches.

“They brought the prisoners here from prison, but they led them somewhere on the front. And we’re here like a retreat-blocking detachment.”

He added: “If someone walks back, we expel them.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin inspects a training ground in the Ryazan region for recruits called up for military service on October 20 under a mobilization order

His wife responds: “What a nightmare.”

The Russian soldier continued: ‘That’s how we set it up. We’re in the second row, guarding the first. There is another line behind us.

“If you go that way, you won’t get there. So running away is impossible. We shoot our own.

“If someone goes that way, you have to wipe them out.”

It is not clear where the Russian soldier is stationed, but he described the harsh living conditions in which he struggled to find food or keep warm.

There are complaints among Russian soldiers about material shortages, poor living conditions and scarce training for new recruits.

Since Putin announced the mobilization of 300,000 Russians on Sept. 21, independent media outlets, human rights activists and callers have painted a bleak picture of a haphazard and chaotic attempt to round up as many men as possible and quickly push them to the front lines. regardless of skill, training and equipment.

The conscription protests have been cracked down hard and tens of thousands of men fled Russia to neighboring countries to avoid being enlisted.

A Ukrainian soldier examines a destroyed Russian tank in the village of Tsupivka in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged ongoing problems with equipment for the conscripts on Wednesday, but “vigorous measures taken to rectify the situation are already showing the first positive results.”

He said regional authorities are involved in providing “the missing equipment”, and now Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov is “personally responsible for this” in a coordination council that Putin has set up.

Russian media reported multiple deaths of reservists in Ukraine, with their relatives telling news outlets that they had received very little training.

When asked by a reporter why several reservists had died in Ukraine just three weeks after being called up, Putin confirmed that the training could last as little as 10 days and as much as 25 days.

Military analyst Pavel Luzin said Russia is unable to train hundreds of thousands of men. The army was not ready for mobilization. It’s never prepared for it,” he said.

Putin has promised to complete the mobilization drive in November, when the regular autumn draw is scheduled. Military experts and rights groups say recruiting agencies and training camps can’t handle both at the same time, warning the call could resume months later.

By mid-October, 222,000 reservists had been recruited, Putin said. Whether it will be possible to recruit another 80,000 in the remaining two weeks is unclear.

To try and widen the pool, Russia’s parliament on Wednesday lifted a ban on mobilizing men convicted of a serious offense and released from prison, but whose convictions are still on the books.