Russian Fighters On Leave Break Their Arms, Legs To Avoid Returning To Ukraine War: Report

The servicemen of the Russian Airborne Troops, also known as the VDV, are deliberately injuring themselves to avoid serving under the Wagner Group paramilitary organization, according to reports.

Mobilized reservists from the 51st Guards Airborne Regiment, a unit based in the administrative capital of Russia's eastern Tula region, are breaking their arms and legs while on leave, independent Russian media outlet The Insider reported, citing Russian military blogger Andrei Morozov.

"Some have shot themselves in the feet too," Morozov said.

The soldiers do this because fighters of the Wagner Group, which has command over the 51st Guards Airborne Regiment, allegedly threatened to shoot troops if they failed to retrieve their wounded comrades.

"Soldiers don't want to be shot in the back by 'friendly' troops for something they can't control," Morozov claimed in a Telegram post.

Humanitarian aid sent to the regiment is also allegedly given to Wagner Group fighters.

The private military company's members feel untouchable because the commander of Russia's Airborne Troops, Col. Gen. Mikhail Teplinsky, tried to stop "this nonsense" but was removed from his post, according to Morozov.

Teplinsky's current standing in the Russian Armed Forces is unclear.

He has likely been dismissed as one of Russia's key operation commanders in Ukraine, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed in a Jan. 24 intelligence briefing.

Teplinsky's removal "is likely another symptom of continued divisions within the senior hierarchy" of Russia's invasion, according to the ministry.

A rivalry between Russia's Defense Ministry and the Wagner Group has developed amid the war, the British MoD suggested Saturday.

Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has criticized Russia's military throughout the conflict.

Prigozhin, whose forces reportedly sustained losses as they carried out assaults in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, has accused the Russian military of "constantly trying to steal Wagner's victory" in an interview with Russian broadcaster RTVI from last month.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously announced the capture of the salt-mining town of Soledar without mentioning the Wagner Group, NBC News reported.

However, the settlement "was taken solely by the efforts" of Wagner Group fighters, Andrey Troshev, a senior commander for the mercenary company, claimed.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed hours after Troshev's statement was posted that the "mission was successfully accomplished by the courageous and selfless actions of the volunteer assault units of the Wagner private military company."