Russian troops heard being ordered to ‘slay’ civilians: ‘F–king kill them all!’
Intercepted Russian radio messages caught weary troops complaining about being vastly outnumbered — and being ordered to “f–king kill” civilians, according to Ukraine intelligence.
“Civilians, everyone, slay them all!” a Russian commander barked at his underlings during the brutal assault on Mariupol, according to a clip released Wednesday by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
According to the intelligence service’s own translation, the intercepted audio started with a soldier alerting his boss to the fact that a car driving by was full of people dressed like civilians.
“F–king kill them all, for f–k’s sake!” the apparent boss snaps, according to the SSU’s translation.
“What is f–king wrong with you, motherf–kers?” he adds in anger at their clear hesitancy at having to slaughter civilians, according to the clip.
A third man was captured in another clip complaining that it is “so f–ked up” that they are being made to advance on a village where they know they are vastly outnumbered by defending Ukrainians.
“What happens now? They are on the left, on the right, they are f–king surrounding us,” he said.
According to the SSU’s translation, the trooper admits he’s “worried” because there “are so many” Ukrainians, while he and his Russian comrades “have no f–king support.”
“Nothing, no f–king aviation,” he says, with a colleague agreeing and also swearing at the apparent dire situation.
He expressed concerns about being forced to press toward an estimated 150,000 Ukrainians when he doubted there were even 3,000 Russians in his convoy, the SSU said.
Despite the fears raised, Russia has been accused of killing more than 5,000 people in Mariupol and its surrounding areas, mostly through an almost constant bombardment of airstrikes — hitting hospitals, schools and shelters marked with “CHILDREN.”
Ukraine’s defense ministry has reported growing opposition from Russian troops who feel they are being ordered to carry out barbaric duties while also put at unnecessary risk, with aging equipment.
Even the ease with which Ukraine’s intelligence has been intercepting radio chats suggests that the Kremlin has given its forces outdated radio equipment or commercial walkie-talkies, the Times of London said.
Military expert Frederick Kagan of the Institute for the Study of War said history will long remember the failures of Russia at a time it was assumed to have one of the strongest militaries in the world.
“It’s stunning,” he said.
With Post wires
