Disturbing Video Shows Russian Commander Kicking Conscript In The Head: 'Completely Unacceptable'

Disturbing footage showing a Russian commander kicking a kneeling conscript in the head is now circulating on social media.

The footage, which was first shared by Vera Adayeva, head of the charitable foundation Victoria's Heart, showed the conscript with what seemed like a swollen eye kneeling on the floor by the wall. Moments later, a commander was seen repeatedly kicking the conscript in the head while demanding apologies and ordering him to buy a new camera.

The identity of the conscript has not been revealed. Sergey Menyailo, the governor of the Russian region of North Ossetia, insisted that abuse is not allowed "even in conditions of combat operations requiring strict discipline." He said the commander in the video has been identified and recommended to the military prosecutor's offices of the North Military District and the Southern Military District.

"I keep the situation under control. And once again I want to repeat: we do not abandon our own!" Menyailo wrote in his Telegram channel. "And secondly, even in the conditions of performing combat missions, where the strictest discipline is necessary and far from the most delicate relations between commanders and fighters are customary, bullying is completely unacceptable! This is not how it is necessary to maintain the morale of the soldiers!"

Menyailo said there are 46 conscripts serving in the regiment where the disturbing footage was recorded. The regiment is currently taking part in combat in the direction of the Ukrainian region of Kherson.

This is not the first time Russian commanders have been accused of subjecting soldiers and conscripts to abuse. Last month, a female Russian service member accused military officers of forcing female medics to become "field wives" or sex slaves amid the war in Ukraine.

The service member also noted that medics who refuse to become field wives are subjected to horrible mistreatment, including being sent to the combat zone and being forced to sleep nights on the ground.

Members of Russia's infamous Wagner group had also been recorded attacking their own gravely-injured colleague using shovels after pulling him away from the battlefield on the outskirts of Bakhmut city.