Russian army sends troops on fake leave to front near Ukraine's Bakhmut
Russian soldiers threatened with transfer to assault units for exposing scheme (photo: Getty Images)
Russian command formally grants soldiers leave but actually sends them to dig trenches near occupied Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region, Atesh reports.
Agents of the partisan movement found that during 2025, more than 90 Russian soldiers in the 24th motorized rifle regiment were officially granted leave, but instead of rest, they were sent to an area near Bakhmut.
"They were involved in building and deepening defensive positions. Such practice continues to this day due to an acute shortage of personnel in the unit caused by heavy losses," Atesh writes.
That is, formally, Russian forces were on leave, but in reality, they carried out work on building defensive lines in the combat zone.
Moreover, similar stories had an almost fatal result.
"During such 'leaves', one serviceman stepped on mine and received severe injuries. After the incident unit command falsified documents, registering the event as an injury received while carrying out a combat mission," the publication says.
Atesh added that Russian soldiers are "directly threatened with transfer to assault units if they talk about a scheme with fake leave."
Partisan movement also noted that it continues to record such cases and pass information about abuses by the Russian command.
Atesh sabotage
Just a week ago, Atesh partisans carried out successful sabotage near Sevastopol dedicated to the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Agents disabled communication facilities, including those interfering with the operation of Ukrainian drones.
Several days ago, partisans disabled two relay cabinets in occupied Luhansk. Such sabotage on the railway led to the Pokrovsk group of Russian troops effectively being left without resupply of ammunition, fuel, and equipment from Russia.
