A Russian soldier called his wife to say a "f***-load" of comrades were being killed on the Ukrainian frontline, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The intercepted conversation supports claims Vladimir Putin's troops were suffering from "severe depletion" in numbers and being picked off as a result, Express.co.uk reports.
According to the Ministry of Defence's latest damning intelligence briefing, the soldier reportedly told his wife Irina that in his unit alone up to 30 people had been dying in the war every day.
READ MORE: Putin pal slams 'lying' Russian officials and questions existence of nuclear missiles
Instead of the ideal 100 soldiers fighting together for Russia in Kherson, reports suggest units are made up of just six to eight men each.
The intelligence briefing added over the past six weeks, Russian ground forces had fallen back to a “defensive posture” on the frontline, likely due to being “severely undermanned” and “poorly trained”.
The leaked phone call was shared by WarTranslated, an online project "concerned with translating materials from the war in Ukraine".
WarTranslated tweeted: "In this short undated intercepted call, a Russian soldier tells his wife about the upcoming Russian attack on Torske and the massive losses they are taking every day."
In the call, the Russian soldier tells his wife: "Soon we will be going to advance. We're located near Torske village. Did you memorise it?"
-
Princess Diana's ex-lover James Hewitt risking life to save locals in war-torn Ukraine
When his wife asks him to repeat the target, he responds: "Torske, we will be taking it. We cannot take it for a month.
"All our roads go there. We're now pulling up everything, tanks, vehicles, everything.
"A f***-load of killed, Irina, a f***-load of wounded every day, 20-30 people."
The chilling phone call, although undated, comes as Ukraine's forces repel several Russian attacks in Torske, a town in the Donetsk region.
For more shocking stories from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here
According to the Ukrainian armed forces, Russians deployed tank guns, mortars and rocket artillery to fire on Torske in the past week.
Ukraine recaptured Torske a month ago after a humiliating and rapid Russian retreat during a Kyiv counter-offensive.
Describing the retreat at the time, Antonina, a pensioner in Torske, told Al Jazeera: “When they left, they were running and panicking on the street."
READ MORE:
-
Putin declares 'new world order' and tells the West 'let’s be friends' in bizarre speech
-
Russian forced to join war by wife killed in first battle after just days on frontline
-
Horrifying footage shows grunting pigs feasting on dead Russian soldiers in Ukraine
Source: Read Full Article