Russian Serviceman Says He Was Told to Burn Personal Belongings of Dead Comrades

A Russian soldier has claimed he was told by his superiors to burn the personal belongings of his dead and wounded comrades.

Speaking to Russian Telegram channel "Carefull, News" on the condition of anonymity, the member of the 394th regiment fighting in the Zaporizhzhia direction, said he was given a backpack containing phones, documents, and empty wallets.

"They gave me a bag and told me to burn it in the woods,” he said. “I took it, went to burn it, then realized what was lying there.

“When I was finally convinced of its contents, I just put it in another [bag], and burned this [empty] one.”

The regiment – comprised of conscripts, contractors, and ex-prisoners from the Kamchatka Territory – has allegedly been collecting several suitcases of documents belonging to wounded and dead soldiers since July, instead of sending them to their families.

Speaking further, the soldier revealed that he witnessed an incident where a colleague was purportedly "thrown into a pit" for misconduct.

Another soldier claimed that money was "beaten out of him" and that commanders are taking bribes.

"For 100 thousand rubles, you can negotiate with the commander so that "they do not send you to the first line," he said.

Furthermore, the soldiers stated that the command confiscates tokens and documents before sending them on assault missions and does not organize the evacuation of the wounded and deceased.

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The servicemen are now requesting the Ministry of Defense to examine the legality of the actions carried out by the 5th Army command.