Despite Kiev’s efforts to maintain morale, many members of their nationalist units can no longer fight, Apty Alaudinov has said
Many members of the ‘elite’ Ukrainian units that invaded Russia’s Kursk Region often surrender because they are no longer able to fight and want to stay alive, Major-General Apty Alaudinov, the commander of the Akhmat Special Forces from Russia’s Chechen Republic, has said.
In an interview with Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov on Tuesday, Alaudinov rejected Kiev’s claims that Russian soldiers executed nine Ukrainian service members in Kursk Region, many of whom were drone operators.
The general dismissed the claim as a psyop, arguing that Ukraine “needs to create fake news to discourage its military from surrendering,” as many of its soldiers “openly say they can fight no more.” Despite these efforts, he added, Ukrainian soldiers “often decide to surrender anyway.”
“What’s interesting is that the units that they considered to be the most unassailable and elite, they are also beginning to slowly lean toward surrendering, as they want to stay alive,” he said.
According to Alaudinov, Russia is ready to spare even those who serve in the Aidar Battalion or Azov units, which have been accused of having neo-Nazi sympathies, if they lay down their arms.
The general uploaded a video earlier in the day featuring a soldier claiming to be a Ukrainian serviceman who once served in the Aidar Battalion. Standing against a backdrop of Russian and Chechen flags, he said he surrendered voluntarily and asked Alaudinov for help in obtaining Russian citizenship and joining the Ahmat Special Forces.
Several Western media outlets have reported that the Ukrainian military is struggling with exhaustion, low morale, and desertion, with many of the reinforcements arriving at the front suffering from inadequate training, a factor which only exacerbates the above-mentioned issues.
Ukraine launched a large-scale incursion into Kursk Region in early August, reportedly committing some of its best troops to the offensive. While they initially made some progress, the incursion forces were halted and later pushed back, according to Moscow. Ukraine has lost more than 23,000 troops since the start of the attack, the Russian Defense Ministry has reported.
