Pavel Filatyev, a former Russian paratrooper, publicly spoke out against the war in Ukraine in a lengthy 141-page-long testimony posted to his VKontakte social media page.
Filatyev’s account marks one of the first detailed public accounts from a Russian soldier.
“It’s been a month and a half since I returned from the war in Ukraine, yes, yes, I know that you can’t say this word ‘war’, it’s banned, but still I will say exactly ‘war’,” Filatyev said in the beginning of his post, which was posted two weeks ago.
Filatyev, 33, goes on to describe how his paratrooper unit was sent to Ukraine via Crimea and entered Kherson.
The testimony is filled with Filatyev’s personal reflections and impressions from the war, as well as philosophical discussions about the sense of guilt.
Filatyev also wrote about the poor state of the Russian army on the front lines — including how Russian soldiers changed into Ukrainian uniforms because they are more comfortable.
“It’s a pity that reporters are not allowed to visit us on the front lines, because then the whole country can admire paratroopers dirty, thin and embittered, it’s not clear with what more, stubborn Ukrainians who don’t want to be denazified, or with their mediocre command, incapable of equipping them even during combat action,” Filatyev said.
Filatyev also said Russian commanders tried to motivate paratroopers with money by promising $69 per day, but in the end, the soldiers received only half of what was promised and many were saying that the job is not worth the money.
The VKontakte post is still up as of Thursday and has been shared over 60 times.
Filatyev has since fled Russia and is now traveling to a “democratic country,” according to Vladimir Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net, who is in charge of the relocation. Gulagu.net is a human rights nonprofit that advocates against corruption and torture in Russia, according to its website.
