Social media posts suggest there is a growing body of evidence of the scale of setbacks suffered by the Russian army, BBC Newsnight Defence and Diplomatic Editor Mark Urban has reported.
Prisoners are interrogated, some dazed from the shock of capture and death of comrades, mumbling that they never knew they were being sent to Ukraine. One young Russian sits with his head in his hands, hiding his face as local people shout abuse about President Putin. Another, asked if he has a message for his family, says, “I love you.”
Along with the growing number of videos of prisoners there is grislier stuff of charred corpses in burnt out vehicles. The toll of dead and captured is unclear but UK defence ministry estimates of hundreds of fatalities are likely to be true, particularly if reports about two Russian transport aircraft being shot down in the early hours of Saturday are confirmed. There could be many tens of prisoners, given the videos circulating.
UK MP Tom Tugendhat, himself a former army officer said, “This doesn’t sound like it’s going as Putin planned.”
The revelation of these losses back home could have serious consequences for Putin. There is a long legacy of protest by soldiers’ mothers, for example during the Afghan and Chechen wars. Hence reports that Russia began restricting access to Twitter and Facebook, perhaps to slow the spread of images and testimony.
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