Report: Putin sent soldier with a double leg fracture to an assault unit

 Speaking out against the Russian military and leadership usually comes with a heavy price and a recent report shows that critizising Putins war can lead to what is effectively a death sentence.

The Russian government is rapidly tightening its powerful grip on the domestic internet, and according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian officials are punishing bloggers who complain about the war.

The think tank notes that the popular Telegram channel Thirteenth just shared a disturbing update. Yegor Guzenko, the main administrator, was reportedly sent to a frontline assault unit in late April. Nobody has heard from him since.

Using AI, we have translate the post from Thirteenth. Article continues below.

Yegor has still not been in contact since April 27. According to information from his fellow soldiers, on April 27 his phone was taken away and he was sent into an assault operation on the front line.

We would like to remind everyone that on March 1, Yegor suffered a double leg fracture with displacement in Avdiivka. In mid-April, CT scan results showed that his fibula had healed incorrectly, while his knee had not healed at all.

This combat mission is a one-way ticket for Yegor.

At the moment, we do not understand what to do or whom to contact. All we understand is that a terrible injustice is happening to a person who did so much for the unit — whose commanders apparently decided to get rid of our Thirteenth.

A dangerous assignment

The sudden combat assignment sounds like a guaranteed death sentence for the writer. Guzenko suffered a severe double leg fracture in early March. He was still struggling to recover when commanders pushed him straight into the active combat zone.

It is unclear if Guzenko’s leg fracture was in both legs or multiple fractures in the same leg.

His deployment happened just three days after he harshly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin online. Guzenko openly complained about new internet restrictions.

He was already dealing with precarious legal trouble. Authorities previously arrested the blogger in late 2024 on felony charges. That arrest followed months of heavy criticism aimed directly at the defense ministry.

ISW notes that the Kremlin desperately wants absolute control over the daily news cycle. Silencing patriotic writers has become a top priority.

Pilots in prison

Other high-profile military voices are facing similarly brutal crackdowns right now. The main administrator of the Voevoda Veshaet channel is currently sitting behind bars in pre-trial detention.

Alexey Zemtsov is a former combat helicopter pilot. Russian officials locked him up on mysterious charges that are supposedly unrelated to his past military service.

Just weeks before his sudden arrest, Zemtsov posted a video complaining about the terrible equipment he received in the field. He claimed military leaders quickly accused him of discrediting the entire army.

Now, the former pilot says he is completely ready to join a dangerous frontline assault company. He simply wants to get out of his current legal situation.