20.01.2026 16:22
The brutal punishments imposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on his soldiers have once again come to the forefront with newly shared footage. In a video circulating on Telegram, two Russian soldiers, alleged to have used drugs, are seen being left bound to trees in a snow-covered forest. This situation clearly demonstrates the systematic violence within the Russian army.
The brutal and inhumane punishments applied to soldiers sent to the front by Russian President Vladimir Putin have once again come to the fore with newly shared footage. The images reveal how soldiers in the Russian army are forced to treat each other mercilessly.
In a video circulating on Telegram, two Russian soldiers, allegedly caught using their commander's drugs, are seen being punished by a so-called "field court." The soldiers are left bound to trees in the freezing cold of a snow-covered forest, where temperatures drop to minus 20 degrees.
One of the soldiers is shown wearing only underwear, while the other is seen in a thin long-sleeved shirt and underwear. It is clearly visible that both are shivering uncontrollably due to the severe cold. It is estimated that they are kept standing for hours in the harsh wind and on the frozen ground.
The person filming the video berates the soldiers with humiliating words, insulting them by saying, "You have smoked the commander's weed." Then the soldiers are abandoned to their fate with the command, "Stay there and freeze."
According to experts, drug and alcohol use among Russian soldiers is quite common. The horrific scenes experienced at the front, along with severe injuries and deaths, lead many soldiers to turn to these substances.
Ukrainian military analyst Yuriy Butusov stated that the footage clearly demonstrates the systematic violence within the Russian army. According to Butusov, soldiers are trained to treat each other in inhumane ways. He claims that this mentality also paves the way for brutality against civilians. It is also suggested that the soldiers may have been held in the cold for a long time before the video recording.
This incident is not the only case that has emerged during the war. There have been previous allegations that Russian soldiers have chained, beaten, and even killed their comrades who refused to go to war or violated discipline rules.
According to independent investigations, some soldiers are executed on the spot, and their bodies are left by riverbanks or in shallow mass graves. Later, these deaths are recorded as "killed in action."
The violence in the Russian army is not limited to its own soldiers. There have also been reports of Ukrainian prisoners of war being tortured, executed with swords, or forcibly branded with inscriptions on their bodies.
Ukrainian prisoner of war Andriy Pereverzev stated that he was subjected to severe torture by Russian soldiers after being captured. Pereverzev described how he was electrocuted on his open wounds, lost consciousness multiple times, and came close to death.
All these images and testimonies reveal that a significant humanitarian tragedy is taking place not only on the front lines but also behind the front in the Ukraine war.