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"They’re treating us like we’re idiots:" Russian families search for military conscripts who disappeared during the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk. The Kremlin insists they were never there.

meduza.io ‘They’re treating us like we’re idiots’ Families are searching for Russian conscripts who disappeared during the Ukrainian incursion. The Defense Ministry insists they were never there. — Meduza

On August 9, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry declared a federal-level emergency in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces had already been advancing for four days. Anywhere from several dozen to several hundred non-mobilized conscripts may have been in the region when Ukrainian troops cross...

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On August 9, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry declared a federal-level emergency in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces had already been advancing for four days. Anywhere from several dozen to several hundred non-mobilized conscripts may have been in the region when Ukrainian troops crossed the border. Journalists from the independent outlet Verstka spoke with the families of seven conscripts serving near the city of Sudzha to learn the fates of these young men who, according to Russian law, should be stationed “outside of the conflict zone.”

“When [the village of] Guevo was captured, the boys who were surrounded texted their mothers, begging for help. But we can’t get through to [the Defense Ministry hotline in] Moscow at all. The enlistment offices just tell us, ‘What nonsense are you talking about? They’re not there, their phones were just taken away.’ Basically, they’re treating us like we’re idiots."

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5 comments
  • A Russian soldier enters Heaven. St. Peter: 'So you're dead...' Russian: 'Oh no - Soviet spokesmen say I'm bravely advancing on the Finns.'

    Finnish joke, WWII.

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  • ... It has to be said they kind of are idiots...

    They're in a war, the area the people they're looking for has been captured by the enemy, the hospitals nearby are filled with wounded soldiers, the army has to figure out how to respond.

    And they think everyone should drop what they're doing to figure out what happend to their brother/son/nephew/.... ?

    I get they want to know what happened, but to expect it right in the middle of a situation like this is just.... ridiculous. The Russians still aren't grasping that they're in an actual full on war that they started it seems? And that their men are dying and will be dying as long as it keeps going? And that everyone has far bigger priorities than to care about them?....

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