A former Russian military doctor who fled her unit has revealed chilling details of sexual abuse, exploitation of injured soldiers, and human trafficking inside Russia’s army during its invasion of Ukraine. The doctor, who served in the notorious 19th Tank Regiment, recorded a video testimony detailing what she endured and witnessed since joining the unit in June 2023.
She described how, after signing a contract and undergoing training in Totskoye, Orenburg region, she was placed under the command of Ivan Borisovich Ladenov — a man widely feared and nicknamed the butcher commander. To receive officer status, she was told she had to become the commander’s “field wife,” a revived term from the Second World War now synonymous with coerced sexual slavery among Russian troops. She described this revival as routine sexual violence masked by archaic military tradition.
The whistleblower was assigned to the regiment’s medical unit, where she says she was ordered to falsely declare severely wounded soldiers as fit for duty, including those who had lost limbs or eyes. “I had to give one-way tickets to the slaughter,” she said, clearly shaken.
She also recounted how soldiers who refused to comply with orders, or who had disciplinary issues such as drinking, were sent to the front lines as punishment. This included women, some of whom were forced into assault roles that often meant certain death.
Conscripts were reportedly forced to sign long-term contracts and stripped of their mobile phones before being sent into combat. She witnessed at least three such cases, none of whom were seen again.
She further exposed how commanders profited from their own troops, treating the wounded and the dead as financial assets. According to the doctor, the regiment’s leadership kept documents valuing soldiers like tradable commodities. Wounded soldiers were left to die without evacuation so that commanders could avoid paying compensation. Those killed in action were often reclassified as “missing” to withhold salaries and benefits from families. The funds were then pocketed by the commanders and their close associates.
Even more grotesquely, she alleged that unwanted servicemen were sometimes executed by their own officers. She claimed the commander and his henchmen personally shot soldiers or threw grenades into dugouts to dispose of them. Ladenov, the notorious commander, was reportedly killed by a Ukrainian drone strike in November 2024. “It is good he is in hell,” the doctor said, adding that his successor was just as cruel.
Currently on Russia’s wanted list for desertion, the doctor said she would rather take her own life than return to the regiment. “If they send me back, I will find a Kalashnikov and put a bullet between my eyes,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continue targeting Russian drone operators in the occupied Kherson region, successfully destroying key positions. These operators pose one of the deadliest threats to Ukrainian troops, and eliminating them hampers Russia’s battlefield coordination.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has again called out the Russian dictator’s unwillingness to negotiate directly. Zelensky said he is ready for talks in Istanbul and has also extended an invitation to US President Donald Trump to join. He made clear that a ceasefire without the Russian dictator’s direct involvement would be meaningless. Zelensky revealed that during Russia’s so-called “ceasefire” around May 9, Russian forces carried out 115 airstrikes, dropped 197 guided bombs, launched over 12,100 artillery attacks, and deployed 7,300 kamikaze drones.
Zelensky insisted that only the Russian dictator can stop the war and urged Western allies to implement tougher sanctions if no progress is made.
