Vladimir Putin paints them as heroes: Tens of thousands of Russian ready and willing to lay down their lives in his 'special military operation' against Ukraine.But as winter bites and the death toll mounts, more and more stories are emerging of Russian soldiers refusing to fight and suffering horrifying consequences.
Men - including conscripts - are being beaten bloody, thrown in basement jails, starved, threatened with lengthy jail terms or made to suffer through mock executions as a result of downing their weapons, their relatives have said.At least nine sites potentially holding hundreds of soldiers have been uncovered so far, with those back in Russia saying their relatives have disappeared into them and have not been heard from since.
ASTRA, a Telegram channel run by dissident Russian journalists, first began reporting on the detention camps back in October when it emerged 20 soldiers were being held in appalling conditions in occupied areas of Luhansk.
Men complained in a video smuggled out of detention that they were being held in a single basement, forced to defecate in a single communal bucket, and had to sleep on the floor under a ceiling that leaked on them.
The group - who were conscripted into the army under Putin's 'partial mobilisation' order - said they were sent there after refusing to go to the frontlines.
They were eventually removed from the basement and taken to a command post in the city of Rubizhne where they were held for another 10 days before prosecutors came to threaten them with lengthy jail terms unless they agreed to fight.
When they again refused, they were taken to a former prison near the city of Alchevs'k which is their last known location.
Another site was then uncovered in Zavitne Bazhannya, Donetsk region, where another 20 people are reportedly being held.
'There is no toilet in the basement, the detainees have not washed for several weeks, they are fed once a day,' ASTRA reported.
Russian news site Insider also reported on the same basement, and spoke to a woman named Elena Kashina who said her 33-year-old husband - a conscript - is being held there after he refused orders to fight.
She said he was a miner by trade who was conscripted into the Russian military - ostensibly as a vehicle mechanic - but was actually given one day of shooting practice, one day of digging trenches, and was then sent to the front.