- A Russian soldier told his father in an intercepted phone call that "everything's bad" in the war.
- Ukraine's intelligence service said it intercepted the call and published it to social media.
A Russian soldier told his father in a phone call Ukrainian intelligence intercepted that his fellow troops have "nowhere to run" as Ukraine continues its fast-paced counteroffensive.
Ukraine's intelligence service released on Monday what it said is a phone call between a Russian soldier in the northern Kharkiv region — where President Vladimir Putin's forces have been routed in recent days — and his father.
"Everything's bad, pop," the soldier told his father when asked how things were going, according to a translation of the report by the Daily Beast. "We're losing, definitely, on top of that."
"I'm telling you, seriously, you know how many injured we have?" the soldier continued, according to the report. "We have nowhere to run. They just keep advancing, advancing, advancing."
The phone call comes as both Ukraine and Russia continue to publish content appearing to normalize the suffering of enemy forces or emphasize their demoralized status as part of a larger information war that the two sides have been waging for domestic and international audiences.
It also takes place as Ukraine continues its rapid counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region where, since the start of September, its forces have reclaimed thousands of square miles of territory Russia previously held.
Russian state media has framed Moscow's setbacks and battlefield woes as the "regrouping of forces."
Meanwhile, the speed of Ukraine's advance has stunned Russian troops — sending them scrambling from their positions and even looting property and vehicles from residents as they escape, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Fleeing Russian soldiers have also left behind a cascade of weaponry and ammunition.
The Pentagon Spokesperson Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday that the success of Ukraine's counteroffensive so far is no surprise to anyone other than Putin and his forces.
"Certainly, since the beginning of Russia's invasion into Ukraine, we've seen the Ukrainians demonstrate a remarkable adaptability in their ability to use their warfighting capabilities to great effect, so it's not surprising to us that they have pushed as quickly as they have," he said.
Ryder continued: "They've also, again, shown a remarkable ability to take advantages of opportunities that present themselves on the battlefield, and the current counteroffensive in Kharkiv is no exception to that."