Journalists from the Skhemy investigation project received a diary of a Russian serviceman, presumably an officer who occupied the village of Katiuzhanka in Kyiv Oblast.
The diary was found in the building and on the territory of the local school, where the Russian military kept a command post until the liberation of the village. In it, the Russian described his thoughts and events from March 13 to March 19 (last entry). In the recordings, he criticized the command, asked why Russian troops came to Ukraine and boasted about the interrogation of Ukrainians, including the priest.
The recordings begin with a phrase about military training that ended in the war. "Iʼm in Katiuzhanka, this is such a village. I study school documentation. I still have not come to terms with the fact that I am in a foreign country, I still do not believe in war. I still donʼt know if all this is right", the military wrote.
He then wrote the following: "Iʼm furious that no one is telling the truth about the losses, about the reality of hostilities, I only hear that our cause is right, victory will be ours. But is this right? Come into a foreign country and bomb its cities? [...]. They wanted a blitzkrieg, and as a result, sat down on the ass. There is a feeling that history will call our actions the second Hitlerism and arrange another Nuremberg, I will not brag, guilty, was there, fought there, Iʼm sorry.
In his diary, the Russian criticizes the strategy of the Russian troops and their uncoordinated actions. At the same time, he describes the interrogations of Ukrainians in which he personally took part.
"By the joint efforts of your humble servant and employee, 12 people were interrogated, all of them are Nazis. I was ruthless, crucified them with cross-examination, individual and night interrogations", he wrote.
"Once again I had to interrogate the priest. The interrogations are successful and informative, and the Protestant pastor promises to be interrogated. If he has something to hide, I will find out, no matter how cunning he is, I am an expert in that", say the next record.