War in Ukraine: Russia will “execute soldiers” who refuse to obey orders, Washington said

For Russian soldiers, the danger also comes from their own side. “We have information that the Russian military is executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing. The US official also mentioned other intelligence “that Russian commanders are threatening to shoot entire units if they try to evade Ukrainian artillery fire.”

If John Kirby had not provided more details about how Washington would have accessed this information, the industrial city of Avdiivka, located in Donetsk (eastern Ukraine), has come under intense attack by Russian forces in recent weeks. They are trying to surround him, at the cost, according to observers, of heavy losses.

“Significant losses” for Moscow

Ukrainian positions around the disputed city remain “protected” but the situation is “complicated” as Russian troops carry out multiple assaults, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday. Ukrainian authorities also ordered on Thursday the evacuation of children from ten communities near the northeastern city of Kupyansk, where the Russian military has been conducting an offensive for months.

Moscow suffered “significant losses” in the offensive, including at least 125 armored vehicles and “thousands” of casualties, Mr. Kirby said, without saying whether they were wounded or dead. “The Russian military appears to be using what we would call a ‘human wave’ tactic, in which hundreds, if not thousands of fighters move towards one point at a time, creating a human mass effect that is difficult for their rivals to contain.

“It is therefore not surprising that Russian forces are suffering from low morale,” said a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, which backs Ukraine militarily against Russia.