The Biden administration says Russia is executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders in the war against Ukraine.
"We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders. We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a plea for Congress to pass a nearly $106 billion supplemental funding request that includes more than $61 billion in aid for Ukraine.
"It's reprehensible to think about that you would execute your own soldiers because they didn't want to follow orders and now threatening to execute entire units, it's barbaric," he added.
"But I think it's a symptom of how poorly Russia's military leaders know they're doing and how bad they have handled this from a military perspective.
"From the very beginning, we've been talking about poor command and control, poor logistics and sustainment. They can't feed their guys in the field, for crying out loud. And now, again, they're willing to shoot them for ... not following orders."
Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said, "is not giving up on his aspirations to take all of Ukraine and as long as Russia continues its brutal assault we have to continue to support the Ukrainian people and their self-defense, because his intentions are clear."
Putin "basically said that if Western weapons to Ukraine stop, Ukraine would have a week to live. So, to ensure that we can continue to do that it's critical that Congress step up and pass the supplemental requests that the president put forward last week."
The U.S. on Thursday announced a new tranche of arms and equipment for Ukraine "that will help them sustain progress on the battlefield and build further momentum," tweeted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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