Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, revealed the intercepted conversation of a Russian soldier who calls the war in Ukraine ‘hell’ and complains that his unit commanders have ‘completely forgotten’ about them.

The man is heard telling a friend in Russia that many of his fellow soldiers have already been killed or taken captive by the Ukrainian forces.

‘In only the first two days, our brigade had 500 men taken away, parts of them, in [plastic] bags. We are sustaining heavy losses. Many [of our unit] have been captured. We are targeting civilian infrastructure.’

In a sign of low morale, the soldier fumes over his unit commanders’ attitude – they have just ‘forgotten’ about their soldiers and were even surprised to see the troops survive after they went missing two weeks into the attack on Ukraine.

‘We are just staying here and waiting; nobody is doing anything. Just occupied the village, f***** mofos. Once I am back [in Russia], I am quitting. If I get back.’