Ukrainian military intelligence has released a chilling intercepted radio message which it claims reveals starving Russian soldiers planning to resort to cannibalism due to catastrophic supply failures on the front line.
Intercepted Audio Reveals Desperate Threats
The audio, published by Ukraine's Defence Intelligence Directorate (GUR) on December 21, 2025, purportedly captures Russian servicemen in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region discussing eating their comrades. In the recording, a soldier is heard saying, "We'll eat each other, it's all ****ed up here."
He goes on to state, "We're already looking for someone younger. I've sharpened my knives. I don't give a **** who I have to cut up. I just want to eat." The GUR stated the men were "preparing to eat their 'younger' henchmen" amid acute ration shortages.
A Pattern of Extreme Deprivation
Ukrainian officials asserted that such extreme measures are becoming "common practice" among some Russian units cut off from reliable logistics. This is not the first such claim; in June 2025, the same intelligence agency said it intercepted a conversation where a Russian soldier admitted to eating his dead comrade over a two-week period.
In a stark contrast, Ukraine's military has publicly stated that it feeds Russian prisoners of war three times daily. They have extended an invitation to President Vladimir Putin's troops to voluntarily surrender if they wish to receive food.
War of Narratives on Frontline Conditions
The allegations emerge amid a fierce information war where both sides accuse the other of suffering crippling supply issues. Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his year-end news conference, claimed that Ukrainian army desertions are rising due to severe shortages of food, water, clothing, and ammunition.
"Knowing they will simply be killed or destroyed, soldiers flee in an effort to stay alive," Putin told reporters. Meanwhile, the fighting in southern Ukraine remains intense. Russian forces have made their fastest advances in recent months in the Zaporizhzhia region, where the leaked conversation was recorded.
Moscow's troops now occupy about three-quarters of the region and are reportedly within 40 kilometres (25 miles) of the major city of Zaporizhzhia. In response, Ukrainian forces are racing to construct extensive defensive lines to slow the Russian push.
Ukraine's Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed, "Work on the construction of fortifications continues in all front-line regions." According to the latest British intelligence assessment, Russian forces lost another 1,090 soldiers on the battlefield over a single day recently, underscoring the brutal cost of the fighting.
