“I wrote this book to show that there is nothing romantic about war.” Pavel FilatiyevAt the age of 34, he was part of the Russian army that invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. After two months on the front line in the Kherson area (south), this paratrooper Evacuation at the end of April When he returned to his native Russia due to an eye disease, he wrote a war diary. And this soldier’s son, whose great-grandfather is Ukrainian and who fought in the First World War, posted this honest and fragmented statement on social networks at the end of July. corruption, improvisationThe lack of supplies of the Russian troops and the harsh reality at the front.
At the risk of going to jail, he decided to go into exile from his country in August and seek refuge in France with the help of an NGO where he is currently in dispute over his rights to publish his newspaper. The story of the denunciation became a book, translated into fifteen languages. It will reach the bookstores in Spain on January 18 with the title ‘.zov. Russian soldier saying no to war in Ukraine‘ and edited by Galaxy Gutenberg. Almost a week before the broadcast, El Periódico de Catalunya of the Prensa Ibérica group had the opportunity to interview him on the terrace of a centrally located hotel in Paris.
Why did you decide to leave Russia?
When I published my story about the war, I hoped that it would serve to awaken people’s consciousness, both in the army and in Russian society in general. He wanted people to be aware of the situation of the war in Ukraine. But the success of my venture was more than relative. And since I risk being imprisoned in Russia for telling the truth, I decided to leave my country on August 16.
Do you feel safe when you come to Paris? Or are you worried for your life as you condemn the invasion of Ukraine and the numerous shortcomings of the Russian army?
Unfortunately, one cannot feel safe anywhere. But what gives me confidence is that I made a morally good decision, even if it wasn’t very beneficial to my well-being or financial situation. At least my conscience is clear.
Almost a year ago, on February 23, you were part of the Russian army paratroopers on the peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. country or neighbor
We were already aware that something serious was being prepared on February 23. They gave us more ammo, medicine and medicine that day. But they never explained to us the specific objectives of the military operation. Army leaders broke Russia’s own laws by dragging us into a war based on lies and manipulation. In the early days of the conflict, we Russian soldiers were told that the American and Polish armies were in Ukraine and were preparing to attack us. This was completely wrong. Of course, if they had said from the beginning that the issue was the occupation of Ukraine, the percentage of those who refused to fight would have been much higher.
Has the official discourse that it is necessary to “disarm” and “disarm” Ukraine penetrate the Russian troops?
The truth is, I wasn’t aware of these terms until I was evacuated from the front (due to an eye disease) two months after the start of the war and watched TV in a hospital. Up to 10% of Russian soldiers believe this is a preemptive response to a possible attack from Ukraine and NATO. The rest of the soldiers were basically just following orders and doing their jobs.
What were the living conditions like at the front?
In my two months at the front, I barely slept a night under a roof in Kherson harbor. The rest of the time we slept in cars, in trenches or outdoors, despite the freezing weather in March. Theoretically, they were supposed to give us food to eat several times a day, but due to constant supply problems we had to divide them up and ate as much as we could, when frenzied fighting allowed.
How do you explain the difficulty of the Russian army, which is theoretically superior to the Ukrainian army?
Because it is not possible to control a country as big as Ukraine in a few days. Even the US military had great difficulty gaining control of Iraq and eventually withdrew. Also, in the case of Ukraine and Russia, two culturally close countries, and this made it difficult for Russian soldiers to see their enemies in Ukrainians. Perhaps it was easier for the Americans to attack the Iraqis. Another factor that contradicted US intelligence predictions that Russia could easily take control of Ukraine was their inability to imagine the levels of corruption and disorder in the Russian military.
To what extent is the corruption of Moscow troops present?
It is a structural corruption left over from the war academies. Homes and family ties dominate. All this favors incompetent people who have no moral conscience, rising in the military hierarchy. We experienced this on the battlefield due to the scarcity and instability of our supplies. Some Russian soldiers used Ukrainian uniforms as they were more comfortable. Our helmets, bulletproof vests, sleeping bags were not enough… Because some commanders sold them online to enrich themselves.
The invasion of Ukraine was also marked by the relatively small number of deployed Russian soldiers.
Military science says that it takes between three and five times the number of soldiers of the opponent to attack a country. However, the opposite happened in the Russian offensive and we started to intervene with around 100,000 men, while the Ukrainian army was around 200,000. This shows us that President Vladimir Putin and top Russian military officials are forcing their country’s soldiers to an impossible target.
And this contributes to constant improvisation.
Yes, there was a lot of improvisation. There was much that wasn’t planned by the commanders, and supplies were often insufficient. This helped the soldiers find themselves without food and eventually rob and loot stores. Soldiers were often left to fend for themselves. I remember once some people had the bright idea of lighting a bonfire to warm up food, which caused the enemy to spot us and bombard us.
Did you witness war crimes during the two months you were in Ukraine?
Shop robberies and looting were constant. Indiscriminate firing on settlements, which represented a war crime, was also common. But I did not witness other incidents such as executions or rape of women. We were basically fighting for those two months and sexual desire was the last thing on our mind. The civilian population was hiding, and we practically did not interact with them. But I’m afraid that the Russian-speaking inhabitants of the territory of southern Ukraine, who before the war did not have a negative opinion about Russia, changed their minds. Everyone would change their minds if their house was bombed.
“When the Russians fight, it is the poor who die. I think the right thing is for Putin and Zelensky to settle this face to face, to agree on which land belongs to which country,” you say in the book. Do you see a possible deal in the coming months?
Sooner or later it will be necessary to negotiate and reach a peace agreement. But I’m afraid it will be very difficult with the current leaders. From the very beginning I argued that Russia has no right to interfere in Ukraine’s affairs or occupy its territory, as it does not pose a threat to the Russian population. As long as Putin remains in power, it seems unlikely to me that he will come to an agreement with Zelensky, who I think is a much better president than his Russian namesake.