Russian commanders panic over 'depressed' troops as military faces suicide epidemic

Russia's military documents show that Moscow's commanders are worried about the increase in suicides among their troops as soldiers are "depressed" on the frontlines.

The shocking development comes as it is revealed that Vladimir Putin's forces anticipated the Kursk incursion but still failed to stop it.

Russian military documents, seized by Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk and shared with the Guardian, report that a Russian soldier took his own life after having been in a “prolonged state of depression due to his service in the Russian army."

Soldiers are told to watch Russian state media daily to boost their “psychological condition", the report adds.

The Russian command also admits in the documents that “the issue of servicemen dying as a result of suicidal incidents remains tense."

After a Russian soldier allegedly shot himself in the head in a shower block, the documents said of the incident: “The investigation into the incident determined that the cause of the suicide and death was a nervous and psychological breakdown, caused by his prolonged state of depression due to his service in the Russian army."

In August, Ukraine launched its incursion into Kursk, a region of Russia located on the border with Ukraine.

The Kursk attack came as a surprise for many, but the documents seized by Ukrainian soldiers show that Russian troops were preparing for such an assault.

An entry from January 4 alluded to “potential for a breakthrough at the state border” by Ukrainian armed groups.

In February, commanders were warned of Ukraine's plan for “a rapid push from the Sumy region into Russian territory, up to a depth of 80km [50 miles], to establish a four-day ‘corridor’ ahead of the arrival of the main Ukrainian army units on armoured vehicles."

Then, in March, Russian units were told to “organise additional exercises for the leadership of units and strongpoints regarding the proper organisation of defences” at the border.

In June, Russian commanders warned of a Ukrainian plan to take Sudzha, a town in Kursk region. This eventually happened during the August attack. They also feared that Ukraine could try and take down a bridge over the Seym River used by the Russians as a supply route. This also happened during the August incursion.

Ukrainian soldiers have described how Russians quickly retreated once they launched the incursion. One Ukrainian told the Guardian: “They ran away, without even evacuating or destroying their documents."

The documents lay bare some of the tactics Russian troops were considering, with one note describing the creation of decoy trenches: “Models of tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery launchers should be created as well as mannequins of soldiers, and they should be periodically moved around."

Another note described how Ukrainians were disguising themselves as Russian troops: “To prevent enemy infiltration into our combat formations … commanders are to implement the use of identification marker variant n6, made from materials 8cm wide, to be attached using invisible tape.”

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