North Ossetian soldiers in Ukraine report of ‘lawlessness’, including murder, by commander’s office

North Ossetian soldiers from a military unit based in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, have recorded a video message addressed to Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, in which they described crimes committed by their higher-ups.

The soldiers said they were transferred to an assault company, which is often involved in dangerous attacks on Ukrainian positions, because they ‘know something’ about the alleged crimes.

According to the soldiers, nine people were affected by the actions of the command, but only five are present in the video circulated in North Ossetian Telegram channels on Wednesday. They did not give their names, and it is not possible to identify them through facial recognition software because of the low video quality.

‘We were all picked up at night, we packed our things, we were loaded onto a bus and taken with paramilitary guards to an unknown destination. Upon arrival, we were reloaded into a [truck] and we ended up in an assault company [...] We know very well why we were sent here. Because everyone knows something about the military commandant's office. About the cruelty and military and civilian lawlessness, which they do, illegally expropriating real estate and cars, covering up the murder of [another soldier], [and] extorting money [from other soldiers]’, said  one of the soldiers.

According to them, several brigades have already been sent to this assault company. Everyone who had been sent before them had already been killed, the soldier claimed.

‘Allegedly, we signed a consent [form] to the transfer, but this is not true’, the soldier said.

The authenticity of the video was confirmed by the Head of North Ossetia, Sergey Menyailo. He noted that before making any ‘hasty conclusions’, the situation should be sorted out, ‘although it is not within the competence of the civilian authorities to resolve such issues’.

In his Telegram channel, Menyailo wrote that Ibrahim Gobeev, Head of the Administration of the Head and Government of the region, is now at the site to clarify all the circumstances surrounding the information in the video.

Such video messages with reports of various violations of soldier's rights have repeatedly appeared since the beginning of the full-scale war. One of the most typical complaints from soldiers is that they are extorted by their commanders or held in confinement in cellars or pits for as long as several months.

In September 2024, soldiers from a unit based in the Chechen town of Shali recorded a video message saying that they were forced to return back to the front after being wounded, although they had not recovered.

Earlier in February, relatives of dead and missing military personnel from a unit based of conscripts from Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk Oblast also created a petition addressed to Belousov.  The unit had become notorious for torture of its soldiers, as well as the disappearance of personnel, often without a trace or any communication with family members.

In August, the ASTRA Telegram channel published an investigation about the torture of Russian soldiers by commanders of the 5th and 110th brigades, who had reportedly organised a ‘concentration camp’ in an abandoned mine in occupied Donetsk Oblast. The ‘concentration camp’ was allegedly where American ‘war correspondent’ and pro-Russian fighter Russell Bentley was tortured before being killed. Other soldiers who refused to fight were also allegedly tortured at the site. ASTRA also claimed that torture was used at the site as a means of extorting wages and bonuses paid to injured soldiers.

In total, according to ASTRA, there are at least 20 places in  occupied Ukraine where military personnel are held and tortured.

Wounded Russian soldier discharged from Chechen hospital after complaining about poor conditions

The soldier said that he was discharged before fully recovering.

OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova