Soldiers' Mothers Group Accuses Russia of Abandoning Troops in Ukraine Border Village

A contingent of Russian soldiers currently stationed in Vesyolaya Lopan — a Russian village located 15 miles from Ukraine’s eastern border — has recently been “abandoned in awful conditions,” the Kyiv Post reported Monday.

An NGO called the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia (CSMR) told Russian and Ukrainian news outlets this week it received reports from village locals in recent days revealing the “poor” living conditions of the roughly 100 Russian troops stationed there since last week.

“The locals reported that the men are at Dolbino railway station, which is near their village, and consist of soldiers with conscripts interspersed, more than 100 men in total, from the Taman and Kantemirovskaya divisions,” the Kyiv Post relayed on February 21.

The Russian Committee of Soldiers Mothers has reported on the poor conditions in which over 100 young #Russian soldiers are currently living in. It says that the #soldiers have been there almost a week.#RussiaInvadedUkraine #Military #UkraineConflict pic.twitter.com/ZOBirYMStz

— KyivPost (@KyivPost) February 21, 2022

The Moscow Times said it spoke to the CSMR on Monday to learn more about the troops’ plight. According to the organization, the contingent is living in “nightmare” conditions including being forced to sleep on the cold tile floors of the Dolbino railway station.

“They have gone without food rations and proper accommodation for the last five days, with soldiers forced to pay out-of-pocket for supplies,” the online newspaper revealed.

Photos circulating on Russian social media platforms such as “VK” appear to show dozens of Russian soldiers sleeping directly on the floor of the Dolbino train station.

“The conditions were first noticed after local residents reported an influx of soldiers and conscripts who claimed they had been left at the train station by military officers,” the Moscow Times relayed.

Some Vesyolaya Lopan locals have said through their own social media accounts they donated food and water to the soldiers after learning of their lack of provisions.

Russia has amassed up to 190,000 military personnel near Ukraine’s border over the past several weeks, according to Western corporate media accounts.

A resident of the Belarusian town of Khoyniki — located in the country’s southeastern corner near its border with Ukraine — told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on February 19 Russian soldiers had recently “settled in the [town’s] surrounding forests.

“They drink a lot and sell a lot of their diesel fuel. They are living in tents,” an unnamed Khoyniki resident told the U.S. government-funded broadcaster.

“I’ve seen with my own eyes the movement of tracked military vehicles on the streets of the city,” the anonymous source claimed.

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