Russian paratrooper reveals how he did NOT know he was invading Ukraine until the shelling started

Filatiev, 33, in military uniform, was part of the force that invaded Russia on 24 February. But now he opposes the ‘terrible war’ that Russia has ‘no moral right’ to start.

Putin’s soldiers had no idea they were invading Ukraine until they were shot back by Kyiv forces, a former Russian military paratrooper revealed.

Pavel Filatiev, 33, said he woke up to the sound of gunfire in the back of an army truck crossing the border at 2 a.m. on February 24, the day the invasion began.

He asked: ‘Are we shooting at the advancing Ukrainians?

‘Where we went and why is not clear. It is clear that a real war has begun. I have found [we had] order to go to Kherson. ‘

As the shelling began and Ukrainian soldiers began firing at the Russian vehicles, Filatiev said he realized he had invaded the neighboring country.

He added: ‘Obviously we attacked Ukraine.’

In an explosive new book, Filatiev highlights terrifying shortcomings ranging from ugly uniforms to military medics with no syringes or painkillers.

The paratrooper was part of the initial invasion, but quickly gave up due to medical reasons.

Russian commanders are using “their tactics,” he said.

In devastating quotes highlighted by independent media outlets iStories and Meduza, Pavel writes: ‘We have no moral right to attack another country, especially those closest to us.

‘When all this started, I knew very few people who believed in Nazi Germany and moreover, [who] want to fight Ukraine.

‘We have no hatred and we don’t think of the Ukrainians as enemies.

‘Most of the military is not happy with what is happening there.

Filatiev (left and right) claims ‘most of the military is not satisfied with what is happening’ in Ukraine. He said President Putin is holding his country’s soldiers ‘hostages’ in ‘terrible war’

‘[They’re] unhappy with the government and its commander, with Putin and his policies, [and] with the defense minister, who [has not served] In the army.

‘We have all become hostages of many powers and I believe we have been taken.

‘We started a terrible war. A war in which cities are destroyed and leads to the deaths of children, women and the elderly. ‘

The lack of preparation began when he was given an old uniform that didn’t fit.

He said: ‘I refused to accept a used uniform that didn’t fit, which is why my relationship with the commander started to deteriorate.

“After arguing with my company commander, I went and bought myself a pea coat.”

Soldiers fell ill during training because they were not dressed warmly in sub-zero temperatures, Filatiev said. He is pictured in military uniform at a Russian military base

Training for war made many soldiers sick because they did not have the right uniform.

‘We went [training] ground for [parachute] dance,’ he said.

‘At night the temperature was below zero and we were driving a KamAZ truck without a roof.

‘Many serving soldiers do not have warm clothes: some receive none, others refuse to accept them.

‘Within a week, about 30 soldiers from my unit were admitted to the infectious diseases unit.’

He said that all those who fell ill had attended parachute training in the annexed Crimea.

‘In mid-February, my company was at a training ground in Staryi Crimea. I realized that something was definitely going on – everyone who had been discharged or sick was being gathered and taken to the training ground.

Former paratrooper Pavel also appreciates the tactics of the Russian army as ‘of our grandfathers’

A wrecked Russian tank is on display in downtown Kyiv as locals admire their soldiers’ efforts

‘Over the next few days we went to the shooting range, where I finally picked up my machine gun.

‘Turns out my machine gun had a broken belt and just rust.

‘On the very first night of filming, [cartridge] got stuck. ‘

Even if Putin’s regime denies that it will go to war ‘at some point on February 20, orders everyone to urgently clean up and move out.

‘There is about to be a forced march to an unknown destination.

‘At the time, everyone was dirty and exhausted.

‘Some have lived at the training ground for almost a month…everyone is tense, and the atmosphere is becoming increasingly serious and confusing.’

The war begins to turn chaotic with his own commander not knowing what to do.

‘February 23, the division commander came and congratulated us on the holiday [Defender of the Fatherland Day]announced that from tomorrow the daily salary will be $69 [£57].

Filatiev said as the war began: ‘I can’t understand: are we shooting at the Ukrainians who are advancing?’

‘It’s a clear sign that something serious is about to happen.

‘[On February 24]I wake up at 2am [in the back of a KamAZ truck].

‘The pole is lined up somewhere in the wilderness, and people have turned off their engines and headlights.

‘Missile cannons worked to the right and left of our column.

‘I can’t understand: are we shooting at the Ukrainians who are moving forward?

‘Or maybe in NATO [forces]? Or are we attacking? Who is this hellish shelling aimed at?

‘The column slowly started to move.

‘I heard gunfire and explosions from the direction we were going.

‘We were wounded and dead [servicemen].

‘The order has no contact information. The commander didn’t understand what was going on. ‘

He told how his forces killed civilians.

‘I was told that someone had fired at a civilian vehicle from a BMD cannon. In the car was a mother and several children. Only one child survived. ‘

He revealed an army stuck in the past and unprepared for the war that Putin believes will control Ukraine in the next few days.

“All of our training is on paper, our technique is hopelessly outdated,” he says.

‘We still have the same tactics as our grandfathers.

‘The first breakers were annihilated.

Kramatorsk resident Luiza, 74, watches as locals repair their dilapidated homes following the bombing

‘The boys told me yes [only] The remaining 50 were in their brigade.

‘[When] It was starting to get dark and the team crouched down.

‘It’s very cold. No one has a sleeping bag, frost creeps to the marrow of the bones.

‘We don’t even need an enemy, the order has put us in such a condition – the homeless live better.

‘[The next day] We arrived at Kherson seaport.

‘People started looking for food, water, showers and places to sleep in buildings.

‘Some started stealing computers and anything of value they could find. I was no exception: I found a hat in a broken truck and took it. ‘

He tells how ‘offices have canteens with kitchens and refrigerators.

‘We, like the barbarians, ate everything that was in it.

‘During the night, we turned everything upside down.’

Filatiev said that ‘in mid-April, I got dirty in my eyes from the shells and keratitis started.

‘After five days of suffering, at that time

Eyes closed, I was evacuated.

‘The medical staff who took me to the evacuation asked me to tell the medical team that he did not have a syringe or pain medication.’

He revealed how ‘we were taken to one of the barracks that is reserved for people who have been discharged from the hospital.

British GMLRS rocket launchers (pictured being tested in the UK) have been sent to Ukraine

‘There’s a hundred people there who have returned from the war and are undoing what they’ve been through.

‘One person stutters a lot, I see two people with amnesia, [and] a lot of people there drank a lot, drank all the money they made. ‘

The paratrooper said: ‘I have to get treatment and buy medicine with my own money.

‘For two months I tried to get treatment by the military: I went to the prosecutor’s office, I went to the commander, to the head of the hospital, and I wrote to the president.

‘I decided to go through the military medical council and leave [the army] for health reasons.

‘The order said that I evaded the performance of official duties, just sent documents to the prosecutor’s office to prosecute a criminal case. They are using this bluff to try to send a lot of people back. ‘

During the battle, he felt harmed by the leadership of the army.

‘I could just drop my weapon and run back somewhere and be a coward or chase people [Ukrainians]’I said.

“Now I understand that I was used.”

Putin’s media propaganda, his use of draconian legislation, the promise of big cash returns for fighters, and the use of trophies and medals are trapping soldiers, he said. war.

‘I understand that if suddenly from one of the houses … if I see danger, I will shoot without thinking.

‘Not paying attention or delay is the death of me or my teammates, doubt is dangerous.

‘But at the same time, I don’t want to kill anyone.

‘The death of innocent civilians has been, is, and will be in any war, but it is disgusting in the soul.

‘While our governments are finding ways to live for each other, and militaries on both sides their tools, peaceful people are dying, their familiar worlds are falling apart.

‘When you realize this, you don’t know what to do.

‘Drop everything and walk away – then you’ll be a coward and a traitor.

If you continue to participate in this, you will become an accomplice to the death and suffering of many people. ‘

His book in Russian is titled ‘ZOV’ after the symbols painted on Putin’s military vehicles.