US Alleges Russia Executing Soldiers Who Refuse Orders in Ukraine War – News18

In a shocking allegation, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has claimed that the Russian military is executing soldiers who disobey orders during the conflict in Ukraine. Kirby, in a Thursday press briefing, said that Russia “continues to demonstrate no regard for the lives of its soldiers,” as its mobilized forces are inadequately trained, ill-equipped, and unprepared for combat.

“We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders. We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire,” Kirby said.

“As was the case during their failed winter offensive last year, Russian military appears to be using what we would call human wave tactics — just throwing masses of these poorly trained soldiers right into the fight, no proper equipment, no leadership, no resourcing, no support,” he added. The Kremlin or Russian military is yet to respond to these allegations.

Kirby added that this alleged move is a symptom of how poorly Russia is doing against Ukraine and how significant its losses have been. But he warned that Russia still maintains offensive capabilities and may be able to achieve tactical gains in the coming months.

“It’s reprehensible to think about that you would execute your own soldiers because they didn’t want to follow orders and now threatening to execute entire units, it’s barbaric. But I think it’s a symptom of how poorly Russia’s military leaders know they’re doing and how bad they have handled this from a military perspective,” he said.

“From the very beginning, we’ve been talking about poor command and control, poor logistics and sustainment. They can’t feed their guys in the field, for crying out loud. And now, again, they’re willing to shoot them for … not following orders,” Kirby added.

The White House official also said the execution of soldiers points to what it described as desperation amid a crunch in military forces during the war. “They are in such desperate need to make some kind of progress, particularly in the Donbas … that they are literally throwing young men into the fight who haven’t been properly trained, haven’t been properly equip, and certainly are not being properly led,” he said.