- Russian soldiers allegedly resorted to cannibalism amid severe food shortages in Ukraine
- At least five cases of cannibalism among Russian troops were reported by Ukrainian intelligence
- One incident involved a soldier killing comrades and attempting to eat a severed leg in Donetsk
A number of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine have allegedly resorted to cannibalism during periods of severe food shortages in winter conditions, according to a news report.
In at least five cases, Russian soldiers allegedly ate their fellow comrades, The Sunday Times reported, citing a Ukrainian intelligence source.
One such case occurred in November 2025 when a soldier, with the call sign Khromoy, was allegedly caught after killing two fellow soldiers and then attempting to consume the leg of one of the victims near Myrnohrad, Donetsk region, the report stated.
"One ally killed two others, and he tried ... he cut off a leg and was already trying to eat one of them," the unnamed officer said in a voice note sent to the senior official.
"In the end, today they went and found the place where he had taken them to the basement, cut off a leg and was already, through a meat grinder or something, sitting there, turning it, trying to eat ... He opened fire on them when they came to check on him. They killed him," he added.
The officer also shared images showing a severely underweight soldier and a severed limb.
In the same exchange, the officer said, "I have no idea where he got that meat grinder. That's the most interesting part."
The commanding officer responded: "Are they not being fed or what? I don't understand."
The officer replied: "Ours will also soon start eating each other ... All the guys are skinny. Everyone is on starvation rations."
In another incident, a soldier with the call sign Most complained about a fellow soldier, saying, "If he were a human being, he could stay here as long as he liked, but he ate a corpse, human meat."
In October 2025, a Russian unit commander near Udachne allegedly warned a subordinate: "Why the f** are you eating Khokhols ... Stop f**ing eating people."
Earlier Ukrainian military publications have also shared alleged intercepted calls in which soldiers accuse comrades of killing and consuming fellow troops.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation in London has dismissed the allegations.
"What you have described are fabrications supplied by Ukrainian military intelligence - an outfit whose function is the production of propaganda, not the gathering of facts," the spokesperson told The Sunday Times.
Russian soldiers have reportedly faced serious supply problems during the war. In some cases, they were given expired food or left without basic supplies for weeks.
Early in the war, The New York Times said that some troops were issued rations that expired in 2002.
