Draftees from Irkutsk region record video address to Putin, say ‘DPR’ commanders use firearms against them

Mobilised servicemen of the 1439 regiment from Russia’s Irkutsk region have recorded a video address to Vladimir Putin where they complained that commanders of the so-called “DPR militia” were using assault rifles against them for refusing to become an assault team.

The video was published by Lyudi Baikala.

The men in the video say that they were unlawfully put under the command of the “DPR militia” where they were transformed into storm troops to be used as “cannon fodder”.

“Commanders from the DPR are shooting from machine guns and infantry fighting vehicles at our draftees, as [soldiers] refuse to go to the assault units […] The command is indifferent to our lives. The command is not present at the front line and does not know the real situation at the front, which is why our unit suffers heavy losses every day. This is the sixth time the command has filled its staff with new draftees[…] We ask for help. There is nowhere else we can turn to,” the men said.

They also noted that draftees from the 2nd battalion of the 1439 regiment recorded a similar video before. This battalion has been almost entirely wiped out, the soldiers say.