Russian soldiers in Ukraine: press service of the Russian Defence Ministry / AP

Alexei Zhilyaev, a 39-year-old Russian critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, agreed to serve as a medic in the Russian army in the hope of saving lives. Less than a year later, disillusioned and traumatised by what he saw, he fled to France, where he is now awaiting political asylum, according to the independent Russian newspaper The Moscow Times.

Deciding to become a doctor

Zhylyaev, who had a medical degree, signed a contract with the Russian army in November 2023 after seeing wounded soldiers being transported in St Petersburg. He was sent to the occupied territories of the Luhansk region, where he witnessed the destruction and humanitarian catastrophe.

“Everything was destroyed. Those who remained survived by working in markets or garages. There was no industry or normal jobs,” he said.

The work of a medic on the front line

Zhylyaev evacuated the wounded and dead from the shelling every day. Despite the lives he saved, he was shocked by the extent of the suffering. “Traumatic amputations are a daily reality,” he says.

The tactics of the Russian army, based on the use of poorly equipped soldiers as “cannon fodder”, caused particular outrage. “Out of an assault group of 15 soldiers, only three could return alive,” Zhilyaev said.

Abuse and arbitrariness

Service at the front was accompanied by arbitrary punishment. Soldiers were sent to the ‘pit’, an improvised detention centre where they were subjected to physical and psychological abuse. “In one case, a lieutenant was left without legs due to frostbite. A soldier who did not follow orders would sign a document and be placed in an assault unit with minimal chances of survival,” he said.

Zhilyaev also witnessed violence against civilians with impunity, including the murder of a Ukrainian woman.

Escape to France

His injury in February 2024 strengthened Zhyliaiev’s determination to escape. In August 2024, he took advantage of his leave to flee through Belarus to France, where he applied for political asylum with the support of the organisation ‘Go to the Forest’.

Post-traumatic stress and hope for change

Zhilyaev is struggling with post-traumatic stress, but is proud to have saved lives. He hopes that his testimony will help change Russians’ attitudes to the war.

“I am not afraid to say that this war is terrible. I left all my fear on the battlefield,” he concluded.