Ukrainian military intelligence on Monday posted what it said was an intercepted phone call in which a Russian soldier in Ukraine vows that if he survives the war, he will vote against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) shared audio of a conversation between the soldier and his mother on its Telegram channel. According to a translation by the Kyiv Post, the unnamed serviceman criticizes military officials as well as his country's leader.
After telling his mother to "watch more TV," the soldier claimed Putin keeps Russia's best military forces in Moscow instead of putting them on the front line in Ukraine. Putin does this, according to the soldier, because he's afraid the Ukraine conflict's "chaos will lead to a civil war."
The service member then promises to not support Putin during his country's next presidential election, which is scheduled to be held in March 2024.
"If I live to see Putin's election, I will vote against him," he said, per the Kyiv Post. "I've never voted before, but I'll do it on principle, to vote against that b****."
In his criticism of military officials, the soldier said Russia's Ministry of Defense treats convicts brought to serve in Ukraine better than the more formal troops.
"Well, overall, it's ridiculous. It's so damn simple. You know, they brought convicts to join us, and the armed forces started recruiting convicts, like Wagner [Group] did," he said, according to the Kyiv Post. "We have a company of convicts behind us on the second line of defense while we are on the front line."
He continued, "And these convicts are only there for a certain period of time—six months. Is that even normal? It feels like I've fallen into slavery, like in tsarist Russia, right?"
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.
The intercepted call is the latest example of GUR publicly posting communications involving Russian military members describing harsh conditions in Ukraine.
On Friday, GUR shared on its Telegram channel a call between two Russian soldiers discussing another troop shooting at his own comrades.
One of the soldiers said that a man from his brigade had "lost his grip" and began shooting at the other members of the unit. The speaker did not reveal if any others were killed or injured during the incident, but he said the shooter was killed.
"The guy from the 12th brigade likely lost his grip yesterday and started f****** shooting us," the soldier said. "Our guys shot him dead. I had to carry his body."
