CNN —One fighter was shot twice, sent from the hospital back to the front, where he drank melted snow to live. Forced to assault Ukrainian positions repeatedly, until a grenade blinded him. CNN also spoke to a rare survivor of the Storm-Z units, Sergei – who was first interviewed by phone in a military hospital months earlier and last week recounted the savage and deteriorating life in the Russian trenches. While the appalling fighting conditions are well known, much Russian testimony is from prisoners of war, and provided through Ukrainian facilitators. Sergei recalls the quotidian horrors of the Russian trenches.

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Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Andrei, Sergei –, Sergei, CNN Sergei, amputees, ” Sergei, ”, “, Don’t, Yulia, ” Andrei, CNN Yulia, Andrei messaged, Putin, ‘, ‘ we’re, ’, ” Yulia sobbed Organizations: CNN, Nazis, Russian Ministry of Defense, Kremlin, Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Red Square, Ukraine, Russia