Stripped and taped to trees in killer cold: Russian soldiers punished for refusing to follow orders

Putin and his officers are being accused of stripping and torturing soldiers outdoors in the biting cold because they refused to follow orders. Purported videos of the soldiers show them in nothing but their underwear and taped to trees. The soldiers reportedly did not want to fight in the war against Ukraine. One soldier was tied upside down and forced to eat snow by a senior officer, who can be heard screaming, "[They] wanted to **** off from their positions, not follow orders." The man shoves some snow into his mouth as the soldier pleads for mercy. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again," he says. The commander tells him, "You need to work, not **** off. Did I tell you where to go?" The soldiers are being punished for not following orders in the war against Ukraine, a fight that has been going on for almost four years. "Russia turns people into cattle, because only animals obey orders without saying a word. Orwell's farmyard - this is Putin's Russia," said Ukraine channel Butusov Plus, comparing their plight to the residents in the famous novel Animal Farm.

Disturbing visuals of Russian soldiers, viewer discretion advised

Nevzorov Telegram channel wrote that the local commanders are "inventing new types of torture for their personnel". The video shows the traumatising condition of Russian soldiers who do not have a say in anything.

Russian attack on Ukraine latest

Russia has continued with its assault on Ukraine as temperatures plummet to nearly minus 20 degrees Celsius. A recent attack left 80 per cent of Kharkiv city without power in the terrible cold. "What could we do? It's almost 24 hours now, and it's --18C [64F] outside," a resident said. Ukrainian officials say that the energy system sustained quite serious damage and crews are working to fix it. Meanwhile, strikes on Black Sea port of Odesa left 22 people injured. Three people were killed, and 25 others were injured in an attack on a building in Odesa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that at least four people were killed in a drone attack on a passenger train in the Kharkiv region. A Russian aerial bomb fell on a kindergarten, which was being used as a community centre to charge phones and to keep people warm during power outages, the head of the Kostiantynivka city military administration, Serhii Horbunov, said on Facebook.