Mike Baker

Many of the soldiers who filed complaints were mobilized civilians, men with little or no prior military experience, who were sent to the front with minimal training.

Others were contract soldiers who signed up for pay or benefits only to find themselves trapped in units that they couldn't leave.

Several accounts describe soldiers being punished for refusing to take part in what they believed were suicidal assaults.

Others say they were beaten after requesting medical evacuation for injuries or illness.

In some cases, wounded soldiers claim they were forced back into combat before fully recovering or were denied treatment altogether.

The reporting also highlights the near total lack of accountability.

Complaints were often ignored, dismissed, or routed back to the same commanders accused of abuse.

Military prosecutors rarely pursued cases, and when they did, consequences were minimal.

Soldiers who spoke out frequently faced retaliation.

In effect, the investigation shows a system designed to keep soldiers at the front at almost any cost, using fear and force to maintain discipline when morale breaks down.

Now, this obviously has clear implications for Russia's war efforts.

A military that relies on coercion rather than cohesion and military camaraderie tends to struggle, obviously, with morale and trust and discipline.

Western intelligence agencies and independent analysts have already pointed to signs of that strain inside Russian forces, breakdowns in command, low initiative among junior officers, and exhaustion after years of fighting.

This reporting helps explain why.

Russia's manpower problem isn't just about how many soldiers it can field, it's about what happens to them once they're in uniform.

Abuse can force short-term compliance, of course, but over time it corrodes unit effectiveness and leaves lasting resentment, both inside the ranks and back home.

There's also a broader social angle.

Many of these soldiers eventually return to civilian life, carrying physical injuries, psychological trauma, and deep mistrust of the state institutions that sent them to war.

Russian authorities have tried to control the narrative around veterans, portraying them as heroes while limiting public discussion of the costs they've had to bear.

But leaks like this undermine that effort.