The Russian Trenches: A Story of Survival and Loss
Two extraordinary stories of survival and untimely death shed light on the sordid reality of life in the Russian trenches in Ukraine. One fighter, shot twice, was sent back to the front lines after a brief hospital stay, resorting to drinking melted snow to stay alive. Another, imprisoned at the age of 20 on minor drug charges, died just three weeks after being sent to the front lines with minimal training. These tragic accounts epitomize the immense loss of life in the Russian trenches.
What sets these stories apart is that these individuals were prisoners promised a respite from their sentences if they joined the Storm-Z battalions run by the Russian Defense Ministry. Life expectancy is short, conditions are grueling, and prisoners describe being used as cannon fodder. Tens of thousands of convicts have been recruited to serve on the front lines, initially by the Wagner mercenary group and later by the Defense Ministry.
CNN spoke to the mother of one convict, Andrei, who was imprisoned at the age of 20 and sent to the front lines as part of the Russian army’s conscription program. She provided substantial evidence, including videos, documentation, and chat messages, to verify her son’s story and his untimely death after just three weeks of deployment. CNN also spoke to Sergei, a rare survivor of the Storm-Z units, who shared his firsthand account of the deteriorating and wild life in the Russian trenches.
While reports of appalling combat conditions are well known, much of the Russian testimony comes from prisoners of war and is provided through Ukrainian facilitators. However, these two stories offer rare testimony delivered directly by the Russians themselves. For their safety, CNN changed the interviewees’ names and removed key details.
Sergei, the survivor, now works two jobs to support his family but is still awaiting military compensation for his multiple injuries. He has endured nine concussions from nearby artillery shells during his eight-month deployment. Despite being shot and receiving treatment, he was sent back to the front lines due to a manpower shortage. There, he witnessed convicts with amputations being assigned radio duties and troops discarding their bulletproof vests due to their limited protection against Ukrainian artillery attacks.
Sergei’s unit of 600 prisoners recruited in October had only 170 survivors, almost all of whom were wounded. Casualty rates were unimaginable, with many soldiers being injured multiple times. Sergei vividly remembers an assault where he and a comrade sought refuge in a trench, narrowly escaping a grenade thrown by a Ukrainian drone.
Andrei’s story, on the other hand, was cut short. Sent to the front lines at the age of 23 after serving three years of a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence, he expressed a desire for freedom rather than financial gain. His mother, Yulia, shared videos of Andrei at a training camp and his last text message before being sent into battle. In that assault, up to 60 prisoners, including Andrei, lost their lives.
The horrors of the Russian trenches included lack of food and water, with soldiers resorting to drinking melted snow to survive. Discipline was maintained through executions, with commanders killing individuals who posed a threat to the unit.
These heartbreaking accounts highlight the immense sacrifice and suffering endured by those sent to the Russian trenches. The convicts, promised reprieve from their prison sentences, faced extremely challenging conditions and immense danger. The loss of life in these battalions, comprised mainly of prisoners, is a startling reminder of the human toll of the conflict in Ukraine.