An Iraqi T-72 main battle tank destroyed in a Coalition attack during Operation Desert Storm
- Leaked audio recordings allegedly from Russian mercenaries in Syria captured deep lament and humiliation over a battle in early February where US forces killed as many as 300 Russians.
- The audio tapes come from Polygraph.info, which receives funding from the US government.
- The voices in the audio corroborate reports from Reuters and Bloomberg that say hundreds of Russians died in a mismatched battle. They also lament Russia denying the clash, and contradict statements from Russia's Foreign Ministry.
Leaked audio recordings allegedly from Russian mercenaries in Syria capture deep lament and humiliation over a battle in early February where US forces killed as many as 300 Russians.
Published by Polygraph.info, a website that's funded by the US government, the audio recordings paint a picture of Russian mercenaries essentially sent to die in an ill-conceived of advance on a US-held position.
The Pentagon described the attack as "unprovoked" and started by pro-Syrian government forces that crossed over the Euphrates river, which functions as a border between US-backed and Russian-backed forces in Syria.
The Pentagon claims about 500 men began to fire on the position, and the US responded with air power and artillery strikes. The audio from Polygraph seems to confirm those details while giving some insight into the feelings of the defeated Russian forces.
Also apparent in the audio is the Russian mercenaries' displeasure with how Russia is handling the situation. Initially, Russia denied its citizens took part in the clash. Later, a spokesperson admitted five may have died. Last week, Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the fight left " several dozen wounded," and some had died. Russian voices on tape report losing 200 men "immediately."
Since then, the Washington Post has reported that it has leaked audio confirming that a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin secured permission from the Kremlin before advancing on the US forces. Russia is thought to use military contractors, and not their proper military, to maintain deniability for acts of war and to conceal the true cost of fighting from the Russian people.
The audio recordings that allege to belong to Russian military contractors back up reports from Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Pentagon that roughly 100, if not hundreds, died. Reuters reported that advance's purpose was to test the US response.
Their accounts also align with how the battle went down, depicting an unprepared column of troops meeting an overwhelming air response before helicopter gun ships strafed the remaining troops.
Here are the translated transcripts from Polygraph:
First clip:
"The reports that are on TV about … well, you know, about Syria and the 25 people that are wounded there from the Syrian f*** Army and -- well ... to make it short, we've had our asses f*** kicked. So, one squadron f**** lost 200 people …right away, another one lost 10 people… and I don't know about the third squadron but it got torn up pretty badly, too... So three squadrons took a beating… The Yankees attacked… first they blasted the f*** out of us by artillery and then they took four helicopters up and pushed us in a f*** merry-go-round with heavy caliber machine guns….They were all shelling the holy f*** out of it and our guys didn't have anything besides the assault rifles… nothing at all, not even mentioning shoulder-fired SAMs or anything like that…So they tore us to pieces for sure, put us through hell, and the Yankees knew for sure that the Russians were coming, that it was us, f*** Russians… Our guys were going to commandeer an oil refinery and the Yankees were holding it… We got our f**** asses beat rough, my men called me... They're there drinking now… many have gone missing… it's a total f***-up, it sucks, another takedown….Everybody, you know, treats us like pieces of sh*** ... They beat our asses like we were little pieces of sh***... but our f*** government will go in reverse now and nobody will respond or anything and nobody will punish anyone for this... So these are our casualties…"
Second clip:
"Out of all vehicles only one tank survived and one BRDM (Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle) after the attack, all other BRDMs and tanks were destroyed in the first minutes of the fight, right away."
Third clip:
"Just had a call with a guy; so they basically formed a convoy, but did not get to their f*** positions by some three hundred meters. One unit moved forward, the convoy remained in place, about 300 meters from the others. The others raised the American f*** flag and their artillery started f*** ours really hard. Then their f*** choppers flew in and starter f*** everybody. Ours just running around. Just got a call from a pal, so there are about 215 f*** killed. They simply rolled ours out f*** hard. Made their point. What the f*** ours were hoping for in there?! That they will f*** run away themselves? Hoped to f*** scare them away? Lots of people f*** so bad [they] can't be f*** ID-d. There was no foot soldiers [on the American side]; they simply f*** our convoy with artillery."