The Russian military sent disabled soldiers on crutches into battle near the village of Novotroitske, Donetsk region.

The user lucky__soldier published the video on social media X.

The video shows two Russian soldiers walking across the field using crutches. However, the Ukrainian military used drones to detect and neutralize them.

Based on the video, OSINTer moklasen determined that the events took place near the village of Novotroitske, Donetsk region, in the Pokrovsk sector.

The Russian infantry was destroyed about 1 kilometer from the front line, while it was moving toward Ukrainian positions.

Previously, appeals from the Russian military have been repeatedly published, claiming that their commanders are forcing them to go into battle despite their injuries and exhaustion. However, this video was the first publicly available one in which the Ukrainian military recorded the killing of disabled soldiers during combat operations.

Moreover, there have even been massive cases of soldiers being sent back into combat from hospitals after receiving primary care, despite medical reports that further treatment was necessary.

The case of about 50 Russian soldiers of the 26th Regiment of the 47th Tank Division, the “remnants of three companies,” who were sent from the hospital to the front lines instead of being sent for further treatment, was particularly publicized in Russian groups.

According to the diverse geography of such appeals, this practice is commonplace in the Russian army.

According to blogger and volunteer Serhii Sternenko, the use of so-called “disabled regiments” by Russians has increased in the last six months.

At the same time, in December 2024, it was reported that the inflow of volunteers to the Russian army had significantly decreased, despite the large payments for signing a contract.

The Russian media Meduza analyzed financial statements and discovered that in the third quarter of 2024, an average of about 600 people a day enlisted in the military. While in the second quarter, there were more than 1,000 volunteers despite significantly lower payments for signing a contract in the second quarter compared to the third.