Intercepted Call: “Putin realized it was too much of a money drain”https://wartranslated.com/intercepte...g-money-drain/ Fresh details regarding the updated injury compensation system within the Russian military have emerged from an intercepted call released by the Ukrainian GUR. In the recording, a Russian soldier explains to his wife how the high command has stopped paying out the 3 million ruble settlements to soldiers with "minor wounds"—specifically cases where bones, internal organs, or limbs aren't involved. This policy shift was implemented after far too many Russian soldiers attempted to exit the war in Ukraine by intentionally wounding themselves just to collect those massive payouts and head home.
Furthermore, the soldier sheds light on the pervasive corruption embedded at every level of the Russian command structure. According to him, officers report higher numbers of personnel participating in assaults than actually exist, allowing them to pocket funds for every "dead soul," since infantrymen receive a daily combat pay of 8,000 rubles during offensive operations.
One can only speculate on exactly how much money these corrupt officers have been siphoning off for soldiers who never even stepped foot on the battlefield.
(R) = Russian man (W) = Woman
(W): What was your mission over there?
(R): Moving through the woods. Checking if the road was mined.
(W): Damn.
(R): Yeah.
(W): How?.. How? ..What? God, this is just... damn.
(R): After covering about 1.5 km perfectly, we found 12 anti-tank mines that had been laid along the road.
(W): Dammit.
(R): Then we headed back.
(W): So, are you marking them somehow so they get cleared?
(R): Yeah, yeah. I got an Android phone with a mapping app.
....
(R): It’s bad, really bad. No one needs to prove they're a "real man." It’s hard, it's too much, and it isn't fucking worth it.
(W): Why did you go then?
(R): Because... Zakharov told me, like...
(W): Right, because you also had to prove you were a real man.
(R): It’s not that... we just didn't provoke Zakharov.
(W): Did he show up as the commander?
R: He showed up as the commanding officer, since the previous commander was suspended.
(W): Why?
(R): Because he wasn't managing things. It's such a shitshow here, I'm telling you... Even the commanding officer tells high command that everything is fine here, that it's all working, that we have plenty of men. For example, if 26 people are going into an assault, they'll report that 126 people are going. Infantry gets paid for assaults—8,000 rubles a day. And for a hundred people—who the hell knows where they are or who they are, whether they're in the rear or elsewhere...
(W): So... who actually gets the money?!
(R): Who knows who gets the money at that point. I'm telling you, they attack in small groups of 15 or 20. Yesterday, the 3rd Battalion was clearly attacking; they must have had 150 men total in the assault. I doubt that, though. I think they probably had... maybe 120. Out of all of them, 23 were wounded immediately and 7 died, so that's 30 men gone right away. Now some will stay there, more will be hit, shelled by mortars—half will panic, half will get wounded, and they'll clear out. So... I'm telling you, this crap is going to drag on for a while, slowly. We can't do anything while we're stuck here. Our heavy artillery is being held back. For some reason, they aren't firing the big guns. I don't get it; I feel like human lives are cheaper than shells. [...] Now they've stopped paying. If they used to pay 3 million to everyone who was wounded, that ended in June. Putin realized it was too much of a fucking money drain because people started intentionally hurting themselves. Someone shoots their own arm, someone shoots their leg, or sticks an arm out of a trench during a mortar strike, just to walk away with 3 million. That's it! Now we're "combatants," we have our 3 million, everything is great, we're happy and healthy, and we aren't going back there. So now they've split them into light and heavy wounds. A light wound isn't... if the bone isn't hit, it's a light wound. But if your arms, legs, or fingers are torn off, or if bones or internal organs are damaged, then it's a heavy wound and you're entitled to the 3 million payout. So, if your leg gets hit or you're hit by gel, it's bullshit! You're entitled to 60,000 at best, and that's it—you just keep serving. That's how the grading works. Now, if someone gets hit, it's fucked. At best, you get a little something from military insurance.
(W): Exactly... So, for the time being, you don't have an actual objective, just...
(R): Not anytime soon—no. I can't get a hold of anyone; it doesn't matter, the radio is dead.
(W): Reaching high command?
(R): Yes. I can't hear a soul.