Alexei Agafonov is a soldier. He was recently drafted into armed service. He now told the independent Russian portal “Werstka” how he and hundreds of other comrades in Ukraine literally have to serve as cannon fodder.
Prepared for action at the front together with other mobilized soldiers in military unit 2079, he describes. The commander of the battalion promised them that they would be taken to the Svatovo region, where they would join the ranks of the “territorial defense” – 15 kilometers from the front line. But the commander lied: On the night of November 1-2, his entire battalion was taken to the front line. The order: dig in and hold the line of defense.
“We were thrown into the trenches. We were told to dig in. We had three shovels per battalion, there was no supply at all.”
Agafonov continues: “We dug in as best we could. And in the morning the shelling began: artillery, rockets, mortars, drones. We were just shot down.” His commanders had abandoned his comrades and him. “When it all started, the officers immediately ran away.”
The shelling had devastating consequences for Agafonov’s unit: “Of 570 men, 29 remained unharmed, 12 more were injured. The rest is done.” Altogether only 41 men from his battalion survived.
And: In the same trenches, at least one other battalion had already been wiped out by “freshly” mobilized people. He saw dozens of corpses. “On TV we are told that everything is wonderful. In fact, here in the Luhansk region, the mobilized are thrown forward to the front,” says Agafonov.
According to Werstka, reports from relatives support the soldier’s reports. The wife of another newly recruited soldier told the portal: “He called me in the morning from a strange number and told me what happened; that they had to dig trenches, were covered by mortar shells and somehow managed to escape from Krasnodon to Svatowo, where they are now hiding.”
And further: “They are now afraid to go anywhere. They are even afraid to go to the checkpoints. The commanders have failed them and they don’t know what to do. They just ask for help.”
Other relatives and they have now joined forces, reports “Wertka”, and wrote a call for help to the governor of the region. “We would like to ask the governor and higher authorities for help for our mobilized, who were drafted on October 12 and then transferred to the town of Valuyki, where they were regrouped and sent in the direction of Luhansk,” the video message reads. They demand that their sons and husbands be withdrawn from the front lines. The list they made includes 41 people. Only 31 people have made contact. The fate of the others is unknown.
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