An alleged captured Ukrainian soldier described the abysmal state of the Ukrainian army, including incompetent commanders and supplies running out, in a video released on Wednesday by the Russian defense ministry.
In the video, the young POW described how he was captured by Russian troops. He was left in a position with orders to dig in but without a navigation app or any equipment.
He then received directions to go to a certain spot to find equipment that wasn't there and instead encountered Russian soldiers.
No weapons to cover, no equipment
He went on to describe the situation of the Ukrainian army: "We have one mortar as a cover, which can also hit our own troops," and a shovel to dig in and take cover.
In contrast, the Ukrainian soldier described Russian troops using tanks, armored vehicles, drones and mortars while having access to ample ammunition.
He went on to tell of Ukrainian commanders not having intel about enemy strikes and no ability to effectively organize their troops. Instead, he claimed, they were just sitting around, waiting to get hit.
The POW also said that according to his commanders, stocks of heavy ammunition and mines would run out soon without any expectation of resupply.
The battle of Bakhmut, the biggest current battle in the war, is wearing on supplies on both sides, with Russian forces also reportedly experiencing supply issues, UK Defense Ministry said in March.
Ukrainian Forces have been receiving a steady stream of weapons supplies from Western countries, while Russia received drones from Iran and has been conducting talks about weapons supplies with other countries, Egypt being a recent example.
Michael Starr contributed to this story.