Ukraine war: Russia is executing its own soldiers for not following orders, White House says
- National Security Council spokesman John Kirby calls alleged Russian executions ‘reprehensible’ and ‘barbaric’
- The United States has strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has been providing significant aid to Kyiv
The White House said Russia is executing soldiers who have failed to follow orders and threatening entire units with death if they retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire.
It’s a development that US national security officials believe reflects Russia’s morale problems 20 months into its grinding invasion of Ukraine, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.
“It’s reprehensible to think about that you would execute your own soldiers because they didn’t want to follow orders and now threatening to execute entire units, it’s barbaric,” Kirby told reporters. “But I think it’s a symptom of how poorly Russia’s military leaders know they’re doing and how bad they have handled this from a military perspective.”
The White House has downgraded and released intelligence findings about Russian action over the course of the war.
In the past, the administration has said it has acted to disclose the intelligence to highlight plans for Russian misinformation and other activity so allies remain clear-eyed about Moscow’s intent and Russia thinks twice before carrying out an operation.
