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Russian troops are deliberately damaging their own equipment on the Kostiantynivka front (Photo: REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev)
Russian troops are deliberately disabling their own equipment on the Kostiantynivka front in Donetsk Oblast to avoid deployment to the front line, the Atesh partisan movement reported on April 4.
The practice has become widespread among personnel in one of the units of Russia’s 255th Motor Rifle Regiment, according to an Atesh agent.
Soldiers are intentionally damaging engines, draining technical fluids, and sabotaging electrical wiring and fuel systems, often just before rotations or combat deployments, the source said.
“People don’t want to go there. Whoever can break something—breaks it. Commanders also see no point in escalating the issue, because they understand where their troops are being sent,” the source said.
Fear of frontline combat outweighs the risk of punishment, leading to equipment being left idle, the movement said.
“Units are sabotaging their own combat readiness. This is no longer isolated—it’s a systemic pattern on the Kostiantynivka front,” the group said.
Russian forces have also been pulling equipment away from frontline cities deeper into the rear of Luhansk Oblast, including to Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, amid heavy losses, Atesh reported earlier. The move is linked to effective Ukrainian strikes on Russian military equipment at the front.
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