A leaked recording has caught two high-ranking Russian military officials abusing Russian President Vladimir Putin as they criticised him for the Russian troop withdrawal from Kyiv. The officers have been identified as Colonel Maksin Vlasov and Colonel Vitaly Kovtun.
A new report by investigative news site iStories has claimed that Russia has lost more than 3,000 soldiers in Ukraine since the war started three months ago.
Officers Call Putin MotherF***er in Leaked Audio
The Mirror reported that the audio conversation between the two Colonels was intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence. The leaked call recordings, which were published by Radio Liberty/Svoboda, allegedly date back to mid-April.
During the course of their conversation, the officers not only lambasted Putin for not bombing the Ukrainian parliament but also called Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, an "incompetent f—ing layman."
"There must have been a f****** missile hitting Kyiv, the Supreme Rada," Kovtun is heard saying. "Why didn't it? Why not? I don't understand, f*** Putin, motherf*****! Why wasn't there a missile strike at Kyiv?
"So that they thought: Ah yes, something is not quite right."
"Why not? Hit Kyiv, hit the centre of the city, buildings of Supreme Rada and Government House. Likely there isn't anyone important there, but the building will be destroyed, and everyone will see it?"
The soldiers also appeared to be angry regarding Russia's decision of not bombing key locations in Kyiv. "They want infantry to go, they f*** want artillery to work at a distance. Spend the f****** bombs, f***, there are f****** plenty of them, just f****** throw them! Even if they hit the wrong target, let them start fearing, f****** aim at railway stations, f****** aim at railroads, roads, for f***'s sake," Kovtun said.
Russian Colonels Also Called Shoigu an Incompetent Layman
Vlasov then went to criticise Shoigu as a "totally incompetent layman...he is simply a showman".
"Shoigu is just s***. There aren't enough contract soldiers - of course, there aren't, where would they come from, b****," Kovtun added.
Complaining about the low wages being paid to the said that Russian troops were paid only 30,000 roubles a month, about $490, at the start of the war. "Where the f*** to recruit them?"
Shoigu was also criticised forming a team with officers from the Russian ministry of emergencies. "He hasn't f****** served in the army at all," Vlasov said.
The Russian officers then went to lambast General Alexander Dvornikov, dubbed as Butcher of Syria prior to the Ukraine war. "That [General Alexander} Dvornikov is a legend of f–kery... He's the one who thought up this 'anti-Banderov push,'" he said.
Apparently disturbed by the high number of Russian causalities in the ongoing war, Vlasov said: "The losses are terrible, our guys, f*** . And, you know, I know a little bit of this military history, I compare this [with the] Soviet-Finnish war, 1939-40, f***, one to one, in general, as a template, f**k, let's go"."
