A senior Russian officer has ben accused of killing three of his soldiers after they refused to carry out his orders. Investigators are reported to have opened a criminal investigation against 42-year-old Vladimir Z. on April 25. The incident allegedly took place in late July 2024 at a Russian military position in the occupied Donbas region of Ukraine.

The officer ordered three soldiers - 35-year-old Artem K., 37-year-old Roman Ch., and 23-year-old Maxim M. - to take supplies to the frontlines. When they refused to do so, the enraged officer arrested the men and locked them inside a metal cage.

He then threw an F-1 fragmentation grenade into the cage. The exploding munition inflicted multiple shrapnel wounds on the soldiers.

One died at the scene, while the other two later succumbed to their wounds in hospital.

The officer was only detained by authorities months following the brutal attack.

The Russian army is notorious for treating its soldiers harshly and showing no concern for their lives.

Servicemen who refuse orders or criticise their officers risk being confined in improvised detention facilities or assigned to suicidal assault missions.

In one instance, a soldier who questioned the tactics of his military superiors was sent to an assault unit in the 1307th Guards Motorised Rifle Regiment.

The soldier has posted a video in which he describes his commanders as "freaks who maim and kill our soldiers".

He said the officers use men as "expendable material", inflicting huge casualties on their own side, and that medical facilities are terrible.

In January, a soldier from Russia's 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade shot his commander and wounded a sergeant.

Soldiers from the unit described conditions within the brigade as “unbearable,” and reported incidents of torture and intimidation.

Incidents of disobedience and sabotage are said to be increasing among Russian troops in the occupied territories of the Kherson region, according to the Crimean partisan group Atesh.