A Russian paratrooper shot a video message showing the conditions in which elite Moscow military personnel are kept awaiting evacuation after being wounded.

“Rostov-on-Don Military Airport. Flight from Rostov hospital to Moscow. They brought us at 9 in the morning. The flight to Moscow was canceled due to a drone attack. OK, we understand, but could you bring us buses, put soldiers in them, how many wounded pedestrians are there?”, – asks the Russian soldier who is filming.

“All day under the sun. The flight will be at 8 pm. The boys lie under the scorching sun for whole days. Without food. Only water was brought recently. It is good for those who can walk, but it is the multitude on the ground who suffer. Fortunately, it’s not even raining,” he explains, after which at 00:51 he is filmed as a fugitive, his uniform shows that he is a serviceman of the Russian Air Force.

The video was shared by a Russian paratrooper less than two weeks after Russia celebrated Airborne Forces Day, in which General Mykhailo Teplinsky, commander of the elite forces, said they had suffered heavy casualties.

“More than 5,000 wounded paratroopers returned to the front line after providing medical aid, another 3,500 of our wounded refused to leave the front line,” he said in a video message.

Teplinsky did not specify how many Russian paratroopers died in battle, but the number of wounded is huge, given that before the war in Ukraine started last year, the Russian Airborne Forces had about 40,000 elite soldiers. It is believed that after the start of the “special forces operation” their forces increased by another 5,000.

The Russian military mocked its Airborne Forces

Teplinsky’s message was initially published on the website of the Russian military TV channel Zvezda TV, but was removed hours later. The video was also removed from the Zvezda Telegram channel, but was probably saved by some Russian netizens who understood its novelty.

The Russian Airborne Forces suffered huge losses during the war after being used in attacks that would more likely fall on the shoulders of motorized infantry.

The British Ministry of Defense has been talking about the “shocking” distortion of these elite units with Wagner’s mercenaries since last May.

An internal document leaked to Russian Telegram channels in June of this year also shows that desertion has become a problem, including among airborne troops sent by Vladimir Putin to Ukraine, as they continue to suffer high casualties.

Earlier this year, airborne units were also deployed by the Russian army in Bakhmut, the scene of the bloodiest battle of the war in Ukraine, after Wagner’s mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, suffered catastrophic losses.

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