Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect identities.Having fought in Syria, Alexander Medvedev* knew he was likely to be called up when the Russian government announced a partial mobilisation for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBut by the time he reached the front lines in early 2023, serving as a machine gunner in the Ural Battalion, he was struck by what he saw as unprofessionalism.“I witnessed my squad leader die of an overdose back in the rear area, so you can draw your own conclusions about the quality of recruitment and the contingent in our elite battalion,” the 38-year-old from Kemerovo, in Siberia, told Al Jazeera from an undisclosed location. “A local worker from the abandoned mine where we were billeted was supplying our soldiers with drugs.”Medvedev is among a group of Russians who are disillusioned with the war and have since deserted.The squad leader in question had barely served a month in the field when he passed away while guarding an ammunition depot in early 2023. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the cause of death.“Our valiant command had conducted its own investigation, which largely consisted of torturing [the officer’s] friend and a fellow drug user,” Medvedev continued.He claimed a commander pressed the victim’s “face against a hot stove”.After the officer’s death by overdose, Medvedev said, his body was dragged to the battle lines to be reported as kille …
