Russian Soldiers Say Comrades Shot for Refusing Orders in Ukraine War

Published: 24 February 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

For the first time on camera, several Russian soldiers have told the BBC that they witnessed their own comrades being killed on the orders of commanders after refusing to obey combat directives on the front lines in Ukraine, according to testimony released this week in the documentary The Zero Line: Inside Russia’s War. The soldiers’ accounts depict alleged executions, torture and extreme discipline measures used against personnel who declined what they described as near-suicide missions.

In interviews with the BBC, ex-mobilised Russian troops described instances in which fellow servicemen were shot at point-blank range by their own officers after fleeing the front or refusing orders to advance, with one witness recounting that a dying soldier begged “Don’t shoot, I’ll do anything!” before being executed. Another described seeing the bodies of about 20 men dumped in a pit after being “zeroed” — military slang for executing one’s own soldiers.

The men also discussed what they called “meat storms”, allegedly waves of troops repeatedly sent into combat with little regard for survival, a tactic they believe was intended to wear down Ukrainian defence forces. Several former soldiers said that dissenters or those who hesitated to participate in these assaults were subjected to torture, starvation or forced combat without weapons before facing possible execution or reassignment. The testimonies come as the conflict, now in its fourth year, continues to inflict heavy casualties on Russia’s armed forces.

The Russian government has rejected these claims, asserting that its armed forces operate “with utmost restraint” and treat personnel “with maximum care”, though independent verification of the testimonies remains difficult due to restricted access to the front and an information environment tightly controlled by Moscow.

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