Russian cannibal soldier ate his own comrade, leaked audio from Ukrainian intel claims
A Russian soldier deployed in Ukraine may have been involved in an act of cannibalism, audio intercepted by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) and released on June 20 suggests.
In the recording posted by HUR on Telegram, a Russian commander is heard telling a subordinate that one soldier, referred to by the call sign “Brelok,” killed and consumed his fellow service member “Foma” over a two-week period.
Ukraine’s military intelligence described the alleged incident as further evidence of what it called the “moral and psychological collapse” of Russian forces.
“Nobody ran away. ‘Brelok’ took him out and then ate him for two fcking weeks,” a speaker identified by HUR as a commander of a reconnaissance unit from Russia’s 68th Motorized Rifle Division can be heard saying in the intercept.
According to HUR, both soldiers served in the 52nd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, which is reportedly operating near the villages of Zapadne and Lyman Pershyi in the Kupiansk direction of Kharkiv Oblast.
The intercepted speaker adds that “Brelok” was later found dead himself.
“They say he was a 200 (military slang for a killed soldier), fck. Well, he ate his comrade, so that’s something to think about,” the voice says.
The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify the authenticity of the leaked recording or confirm the events described in it. No visual or documentary evidence has been presented to support the claims, which are based solely on the intercepted audio provided by HUR.
But Russia’s recruitment system for the war in Ukraine has heavily relied on the country’s prisons as a source of manpower, leading to its ranks being filled by all manner of criminals, even cannibals.
Moscow has been recruiting convicts for its war since the summer of 2022, first under the auspices of the Wagner Group and later under the Russian Defense Ministry.
Initially, prisoners, even those convicted of violent crimes, were promised a pardon after completing a six-month military contract. Since January 2024, Russian army recruits drawn from prisons no longer receive pardons but are released on parole, and are expected to fight until the war is over.
In May 2024, the Moscow Times reported that Russian cannibal Dmitry Malyshev, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder and several other serious crimes, joined one of Russia’s Storm V penal military units.
Malyshev was reportedly recruited to the army together with serial killer Aleksandr Maslennikov, sentenced to 23 years in prison for the “double murder and dismemberment of women."
Previously, Ukraine said there were cases of mistreatment and breakdown of discipline within Russia’s own ranks. A group of Russian soldiers fighting near Kursk Oblast surrendered to Ukrainian paratroopers in May, saying abuse within their own units was “worse than captivity,” according to a video posted by Ukraine’s Airborne Assault Forces.
The soldiers said they had been subjected to inhumane treatment, psychological pressure, and threats while still inside Russian territory.
Reporting by investigative outlets, the Insider and Foreign Policy, has documented systemic abuse of Russian troops throughout the full-scale invasion.
These include so-called “punishment squads,” beatings, confinement pits, and hazing that borrows heavily from Soviet-era gulag practices.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy