‘They’re just meat’: Russia deploys punishment battalions in echo of Stalin

Drunken recruits, disobedient soldiers and convicts.

They are among hundreds of military and civilian perpetrators locked up in Russian punitive units known as ‘Storm-Z’ squads and sent to the front lines in Ukraine this year, according to thirteen people with knowledge of the matter, including five fighters. in the units.

“Storm fighters, they are just meat,” said a regular soldier from army unit No. 40318, which deployed in May and June near the hotly contested city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

He said he gave medical treatment to a group of six or seven wounded Storm-Z fighters on the battlefield, ignoring an order from a commander (whose name he did not know) to leave the men. He said he did not know why the commander gave the order, but claimed it typified how Storm-Z fighters were viewed by officers as less valuable than regular troops.

The soldier, who requested anonymity because he feared prosecution in Russia for publicly discussing the war, said he sympathized with the plight of the men: “If the commanders catch someone with the smell of alcohol on their breath, they send they immediately go to the Storm. squads.” When contacted by Reuters, an officer from Unit No. 40318 declined to comment on Storm-Z and ended the call. Russian state media has reported that Storm-Z squadrons exist, that they have taken part in intense battles and that some of their members have received medals for bravery, but it has not been disclosed how they were formed, or what losses they suffered.

Reuters is the first news organization to compile a comprehensive account of how the squads were assembled and deployed. Like the soldier from Unit No. 40318, the 13 people interviewed requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Reuters verified the identities of all fighters involved using criminal records, social media accounts or by speaking to their fellow soldiers