A Russian convict soldier told his wife he was used as 'bait' to find Ukrainian artillery. He's dead now.

• A now-dead Russian convict soldier told his wife he was "just a bait" for Ukrainian artillery.
• The soldier's message was shared by his wife with The New York Times.

A Russian convict soldier named Dmitri once told his wife he was "just a bait" used to locate Ukrainian artillery units. He's dead now.

Dmitri was part of a Russian Army unit made up almost entirely of former prison inmates, The New York Times reported.

In a voice message shared by the soldier's wife with The Times, Dmitri said: "I'm running around with an automatic gun like an idiot. I haven't made a single shot. I haven't seen a single enemy."

"We are just bait to expose their artillery positions," he added.

It's unclear where Dmitri and his unit were stationed or when he was killed, but his message speaks to a glaring issue facing Russian forces: Ukraine is battering them with artillery, eliminating exposed Russian positions, and raining shells on troops.

In July, a now-fired Russian general raised concerns to military leadership about "the lack of counter-battery combat, the absence of artillery reconnaissance stations, and the mass death and injuries of our brothers in enemy artillery fire."

That counter-battery fight was key in the early days of Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive and included using heavy artillery — such as Ukraine's High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems or howitzers like the 155mm M777s — to hit and destroy enemy assets, logistics centers, command and control, and reconnaissance operations.