A former soldier who defected from the Kremlin’s ranks has revealed the extraordinary dysfunction, corruption and cruelty at the heart of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Evani, a 22 year old former web designer from Moscow, was seized during a random conscription raid in the metro and sent to the front lines with no military training. Despite being designated as a sapper, he and others spent weeks simply digging holes. His unit was later dropped near Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region, without food, water or clear orders. Supplies were reportedly stolen by other units, and soldiers were forced to beg villagers for water and pay locals for transport in order to buy food.
Russian defensive positions were as disorganised as their logistics. Evani described outdated Soviet trench systems and desperate camouflage measures, including reliance on props from the state-run film studio Mosfilm — including tanks built for movies, not war. These included seventy year old T-55 tanks and obsolete PT-76s.
Evani further alleged that wounded soldiers were sent back into combat without medical treatment, while those who refused suicidal missions were reassigned to the so-called Storm Z penal units. One soldier with a damaged leg and untreated shrapnel was thrown back into the fight. Corruption flourished among officers, with postings to safe zones allegedly bought for £19,800 (2 million rubles). Soldiers were also required to purchase their own equipment.
The scale of criminality and abuse was even worse in occupied territories. Evani, posted to Molochansk, a small town near Tokmak, witnessed grotesque conditions. Civilians lived under constant fear. Children were reportedly abducted and taken to Russia — effectively kidnapped — while both local residents and Russian soldiers were tortured in underground cells. Eyewitness accounts and videos from other captured Russian troops support his testimony, including claims of child rape by Chechen or Ossetian fighters.
Evani’s commander was removed after objecting to suicidal orders based on outdated Soviet maps. His replacement obediently sent troops into a forest already held by Ukrainian forces. Miraculously, most survived, although one was injured and eight who refused were reassigned to penal units. Evani’s experience reflects the grotesque inefficiency and moral vacuum of the Russian military command.
After eight months, Evani used his leave to escape. Fleeing through Armenia and Georgia, he eventually sought asylum in France in October 2024. However, his parents — Putin loyalists — reported him as a deserter. His mother, who “loves Putin,” forced his father to contact the authorities. France ultimately rejected his asylum application in early 2025, deporting him to Croatia where he is now pursuing legal action with help from European human rights groups.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin continues to escalate its aggression. Russia’s Gulf of Finland provocation, where an oil tanker sailing under a Gabonese flag ignored Estonian demands to alter course, saw Estonia respond with aircraft and naval patrols. Russia scrambled a Su-35S fighter jet in defence of the tanker.
Elsewhere, Belarus has begun sending troops to Russia for training in drone warfare and combat tactics, indicating growing alignment between the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Belarus’s own autocrat, Alexander Lukashenko. Ironically, the very training centre they use was struck by a Ukrainian drone in March, injuring Russian troops and damaging simulation equipment.
Despite global calls for de-escalation, Trump continues to downplay Russia’s crimes and shows no clear understanding of the Kremlin’s brutality. Asked about low-level Russian delegation talks in Turkey, Trump claimed he knew nothing about it and insisted that nothing would happen until he met Putin directly.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enjoys strong domestic support, with a recent poll showing that 74 percent of Ukrainians trust him. Support for holding elections remains low until the war ends, as the Ukrainian public focuses on survival and victory.
Amidst ongoing atrocities, the Russian regime has cynically floated the possibility of a prisoner swap — only to assert that captured Ukrainian soldiers must face show trials instead.
