Russian troops fear returning home over storming: Ukrainian military explains why

He said this on Espreso TV.

"It seems that the Russians are sometimes more afraid to go back than to storm the positions of the Armed Forces. The invaders have different firing squads. Some Russian servicemen who refused to assault were tied to equipment and sent to the assault on the principle of 'survive or not survive.' This is how they intimidate the personnel. They say that if one of them does not want to go on the assault, he will be shot, then everyone will be willing to go," said Otchenash.

According to him, the Ukrainian Defense Forces and the Rubizh Brigade are working to ensure that such an attitude does not exist in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

"Russia is an absolutely imperialistic country with an anti-human attitude. We are working to eventually free the temporarily occupied territories from this terrible oppression. We have met captives from the temporarily occupied territories who told us that they were offered three options: go to the front, be shot, or have their families threatened," he added.

Today, Russia is very active in the area where the Rubizh Brigade is holding the line, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces are fighting back, Otchenash said: "The Ukrainian Armed Forces have repelled the enemy's last assaults quite successfully. Thanks to unmanned aerial systems and drops, about 20 Russians were eliminated. This is a good result and an indicator that the assault actions are increasing. Russia is trying to find weaknesses in the Ukrainian army. For their part, the Armed Forces are doing everything possible to stop the Russian offensive."

• Defense Express analyst Serhiy Zgurets noted that Russia fails to achieve 30,000-40,000 monthly personnel recruitment goal.