Manpower struggles: Russia sending wounded soldiers on crutches to frontline 

Some videos and testimonies obtained by CNN have revealed that the Russian military is now redeploying wounded soldiers, including those using crutches, back to the frontlines as it faces mounting manpower shortages.

Footage from Ukrainian drone operators and Russian troops shows men with visible leg injuries, some with fresh bandages, struggling to move in combat zones. 

In several instances, Ukrainian drones targeted these wounded soldiers as they attempted to flee. A Western official, commenting on the videos, remarked, “The Russians are recycling the wounded back into the fight,” referring to the disturbing scenes of troops on crutches being pushed back into battle.

The use of injured soldiers highlights Moscow’s attempts to manage its manpower crisis without resorting to a wider mobilisation, which could provoke backlash from Russia’s urban middle classes. 

One video from January, posted by Ukraine’s 59th Brigade, shows a Russian soldier using crutches to reach cover despite the apparent risk from a hovering Ukrainian drone. The footage ends with the drone dropping a mortar round on him.

Other videos suggest the forced redeployment of injured soldiers. One clip shows a wounded man being dragged from outside a military hospital in Yeysk, Krasnodar region. Protesting, he says, “What the hell are you doing with me, why? I had surgery yesterday, damn it!” He then addresses the camera, stating, “I… am addressing all residents of Russia and I want to show everyone what is happening to one of our worthy soldiers in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.”

Inside the vehicle, he displays his leg injury, which he claims was recently operated on, along with a wounded hand. “I don’t have a finger; they also sewed it up yesterday. I can only move using crutches.” He describes an impending eight-hour journey on poor roads back to the frontlines in Luhansk. Other passengers in the vehicle also show their wounds, with one revealing, “There’s a tube in my stomach.” The timing of the video remains unclear.

Another video, reportedly from last month and posted by Russian military bloggers, depicts a unit from the 20th Army preparing for deployment. 

The man filming expresses his disbelief: “This is how we’re going on a combat mission. This is so fking completely fked up!” He goes on to describe how wounded men are being equipped with weapons and sent to the frontline. 

One soldier claims, “I fought five times, two severe injuries and a severe brain injury.” Despite being deemed fit only for unarmed service, he says, “Now they hang the guns on me and take me to the front line without any problems.” Another soldier, observing wounded comrades, exclaims, “They are taking the boys with crutches to receive the weapons, f**king hell!” The unit is reportedly being sent to Makiivka for further deployment.

ALSO READ: German polls: Recent updates on Sunday elections

A Ukrainian defence intelligence official confirmed that wounded Russian soldiers have been appearing in “active combat areas” over the past six months, suggesting commanders are trying to conceal losses and their inability to rotate troops effectively.

Some soldiers have narrowly escaped redeployment. CNN interviewed a Russian serviceman injured in fighting near Vovchansk. After receiving limited treatment and a month’s leave, he fled Russia upon learning wounded soldiers were being sent back to the front. “I’ve been in the hospital for a month,” he said, “and they don’t extract the shrapnel for anyone. They just put on some ointment and that’s it. When the wound heals slightly, they discharge you.”

He recounted recovering in a unit near Moscow, surrounded by amputees and others reliant on crutches. 

“They are not allowed to leave the unit,” he said, explaining that after a month of so-called recovery, they are sent back to war. He described it as a “one way ticket,” possibly designed to minimise compensation payments to soldiers’ families. “They pay 3 million rubles for some injury. They’re sending cripples back to the front… to avoid paying money. If the person is missing, the family doesn’t get paid money. For the proof, a body is needed, and if there’s no body, that’s it, sorry, goodbye.”

CNN also reviewed documents recovered by Ukrainian forces from dead Russian soldiers near Pokrovsk, including a medical report detailing severe head and body injuries suffered by a soldier who had been redeployed despite his condition.

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE