‘Cannon Fodder’ Policy Exposed: Amputated Russian Soldiers Forced Back to Front Lines

Source: Verified social media footage / Ukrainian intelligence

When Private Startsev lost his leg to a Ukrainian explosion in 2024, he assumed his war was over. Drafted into the Russian army directly from a penal colony, he had served—and sacrificed. Denied a prosthetic by military authorities, he believed he was of no further use to his unit, the 126th Motorized Rifle Regiment.

He was wrong.

In grainy, verified video footage circulated this week, a visibly distressed Startsev leans on a crutch, his amputation on display. "We've already paid our dues in blood. So what now? Are we supposed to f------ die?" he demands, alleging his commanders are sending him straight back to the trenches.

He is not alone. Startsev is one of at least three Russian soldiers with amputations who have come forward with identical claims, pointing a finger directly at their deputy commander, Colonel Kostyantynov Volodymyr Mykolayovych. The videos, verified by Ukrainian military intelligence and obtained by The Telegraph, show men trembling, struggling to balance, pleading for help against orders they describe as a death sentence.

"They're sending me to the front, despite the fact I have no leg, can't move or handle a weapon," says one soldier, identified as Mikhail Viktorovich, who claims he was awaiting a medical disability assessment. "But they're still sending me to war."

Analysts and Ukrainian officials state this is not an isolated atrocity but a symptom of a systemic crisis. "This case illustrates a systemic issue in the Russian army, which disregards losses to achieve Kremlin goals, treating personnel as 'cannon fodder'," said Olesia Horiainova, deputy head of the Ukrainian Security and Co-operation Centre. She noted that former prisoners, often used as assault troops, are particularly vulnerable.

The allegations form the latest in a series of grim reports about the treatment of Russian soldiers. Previous investigations have revealed the deployment of mentally disabled personnel and brutal field punishments, including soldiers being tied to trees.

Military experts describe the strategy as one of brutal attrition. "It shows how little regard the hierarchy have for the rank and file," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former NATO tank commander. "The Russian tactics are attritional, and these injured soldiers are literally bullet catchers."

Ms. Horiainova links the policy to Russia's costly "meat grinder" tactics, where small infantry groups are thrown against fortified positions with catastrophic losses. A lack of evacuation means the wounded often die, and now, evidence suggests, even the amputated are not spared from the cycle.

In the footage, Pte. Startsev alleges Colonel Mykolayovych told him that soldiers who were convicts "should all die, every last one." His final words to the camera echo a profound helplessness: "We don't know who to call. We don't know what to do. They'll simply let us be killed. That's the story."

Reaction & Analysis

The Telegraph gathered reactions from observers:

David Chen, military analyst at the Baltic Security Institute: "Logistically and morally, this makes zero sense. It reflects not strength, but a desperate shortage of deployable personnel. Forcing combat-ineffective soldiers back is a sign of institutional failure that will further devastate morale."

Anya Petrova, researcher for Conflict Watchdog: "This is the logical, horrific endpoint of the 'cannon fodder' doctrine applied to penal battalions. These men are viewed as expendable assets, not soldiers. Their testimonies are a war crime in real-time."

Markus Scholz, former Bundeswehr officer: "From a purely tactical standpoint, a soldier who cannot maneuver or fire a weapon is a burden, not an asset. This order is less about military necessity and more about sending a message of absolute control and disregard for life within the ranks."

Irina Volkova, Russian expatriate and activist (speaking from Vilnius): "It's monstrous. My brother served and was wounded. This isn't an army; it's a slaughterhouse grinding up its own people. Putin's commanders are not generals, they are butchers. The world cannot look away from this barbarity."