The Russian military, who were in Izyum of the Kharkiv region before the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, were morally depressed and en masse asked their leadership to release them from service.
This is written by The Washington Post, which has read the statements of the Russians. They left them in Raisin during their escape.
In the two-story building, the Ukrainian military found at least 10 handwritten notes of the occupiers, asking them to be released from service. The Ukrainians handed over these recordings to journalists.
"I refuse to perform my duties in a special operation on the territory of Ukraine due to lack of vacation days and moral exhaustion," wrote a man who called himself the commander of an anti-aircraft missile platoon from the Moscow region.
Another asked to be released due to "deteriorating health and lack of medical care." Another soldier complained of "physical and psychological exhaustion."
The occupiers also complained that they were not given leave for family reasons, in particular for a wedding or because of the birth of a child.
In the same building, the Ukrainian military found other records. In particular, the occupiers left a report dated August 23 in the name of the commander of the second motorized rifle division of Russia with the markings "Top Secret" and "Ukraine Urgent", which described how four Russian servicemen were killed and one wounded as a result of shelling by Ukrainian artillery in the village of Kamyanka.
The journalists of the publication also say that the Russians had enough time to prepare for the escape from Izyum after the start of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The occupiers managed to set fire to the city council, where the occupation administration was sitting, and part of the equipment, and also blew up a strategic bridge. According to the locals, the Russians even left their units on the other side of the bridge, which had the opportunity to escape only on foot.
Locals also said that before the escape, the Russians imposed a 24-hour curfew, and then began going to the houses of civilians in search of civilian clothes so that they would not be seen in uniform. According to local residents, some then fled on foot or on bicycles.
- On September 13, the Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar reported that during the counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian military liberated almost 400 settlements (the real figure is almost twice as large). The operation will continue until the area is completely liberated. Subsequently, the OP noted that the Ukrainian army had liberated 421 settlements in the Kharkiv region. Humanitarian aid is already being delivered there, and infrastructure is being restored on the spot.
- On September 10, the Ministry of Defense of Russia actually recognized the loss of the towns of Izyum and Balaklia in the Kharkiv region, but called it an "operation to roll back and transfer troops." The purpose of this "collapse" is to transfer the troops to the Donetsk direction.