Vladimir Putin Mutiny: 'Drunk' Commanders Blamed As Russian Officers Launch Revolt

Vladimir Putin is confronting a rare and destabilising crisis inside his own military as reports from Ukrainian intelligence-linked groups describe officers refusing frontline duty and commanders issuing orders while intoxicated.

As the Kremlin leader marks Orthodox Christmas largely out of public view, multiple battlefield accounts suggest morale inside Russian units has collapsed, with what analysts describe as a mutiny in all but name.

The allegations, attributed to intercepted communications and frontline testimony, point to a war effort fraying under pressure just as Ukraine intensifies strikes deep into Russian territory.

Express UK reported that the unrest among Russia's rank and file comes at a moment when Putin's geopolitical position has never been weaker. The US has arrested Russia's close ally Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, while major unrest is destabilising Iran, a crucial Moscow partner, and US President Donald Trump has publicly demanded an end to the killing in Ukraine.

'Russian Officers Flee Pokrovsk Killing Fields'

Russian officers serving in the 39th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade are now openly pleading to escape the frontline around Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, UNN reported.

According to the Ukrainian partisan group ATESH, which supports Kyiv's forces, these officers are desperately requesting transfers to the 'rear' or to quieter sectors—anything to avoid almost certain death. The situation has become so dire that commanders are using threats and intimidation to keep soldiers in place.

'The command is keeping officers in check with threats of disciplinary penalties, demotions, and complete career blocking,' ATESH revealed. 'Officers are harshly reprimanded for the surrender of positions by their subordinates, are required to report on a 'stable situation' that does not actually exist, and are forced to sign documents that are far from reality.'

The reality on the ground contradicts everything Moscow claims about the situation in Pokrovsk—a strategic hub Putin falsely claimed was 'liberated' just weeks ago, despite fierce ongoing fighting.

Morale among Russia's officer corps in the area has collapsed entirely. They are 'completely demotivated, poorly oriented in local conditions, and perceive the Pokrovsk front as a dangerous posting,' according to ATESH's analysis of communications intercepted from the field.

Many officers are now 'increasingly submitting reports requesting a transfer to the rear or to more peaceful frontline areas', a dramatic admission of defeat that speaks volumes about confidence levels within the Eastern Military District's 68th Army Corps.

The fear driving these requests is palpable. Russian commanders live under constant threat from anti-tank missile systems and Ukrainian guerrillas. Even worse, residents have already provided Ukrainian Defence Forces with intelligence on command post locations and troop movements, making every position a potential target.

For officers who spent years believing propaganda about a quick victory, the reality of fighting an enemy they cannot defeat has become unbearable.

How Alcohol-Fuelled Command Decisions Are Destroying Entire Units

Yet the situation in Zaporizhzhia tells an even darker story about the collapse of military discipline under Putin. The 74th Motor Rifle Regiment is haemorrhaging troops at catastrophic levels—not because of superior Ukrainian tactics, but because commanders are issuing orders whilst severely intoxicated. Soldiers who have spoken to ATESH describe a unit gripped by chaos, where coherent strategy has been replaced entirely by the whims of inebriated leadership.

'Orders are given in a state of severe alcohol intoxication, without the slightest understanding of the real situation,' troops told ATESH. The consequences have been devastating. 'This has already led to the highest losses in the unit during the entire period of combat operations.' The numbers are staggering: 'The 'alcohol-battalion' is suffering losses amounting to up to 100 people per month killed and wounded—significantly more than in other units—amid incoherent orders from commanders.'

This is not an isolated breakdown. It reflects systemic collapse. 'The fate of the battalion depends not on tactics and the enemy, but on how much the commanders have drunk today,' ATESH analysts concluded bluntly.

For enlisted men trapped in such units, the war is no longer about defending Russia or capturing Ukrainian territory. It has become a desperate gamble for survival against an enemy made far more formidable by the incompetence and recklessness of their own leadership.

Ukraine Strikes Deep Into Russian Territory As Kremlin Falters

Whilst Putin's military implodes from within, Ukraine is striking with devastating precision across occupied territories and deep into Russia itself. On Orthodox Christmas Eve, Ukrainian forces conducted coordinated strikes against multiple high-value targets spanning hundreds of miles—a demonstration of reach and capacity that underscores Moscow's inability to defend its own heartland.

A petrochemical plant in Sterlitamak, Bashkortostan, caught fire following the strikes. The Penza Bearing Plant—located nearly 930 miles from Ukraine and used to manufacture military vehicles, machinery and heavy equipment—was also hit, with residents reporting around ten loud 'popping sounds' and 'bright flashes' lighting the night sky. The Usman oil facility in Lipetsk burned following explosions, whilst the Leningrad region, positioned near St Petersburg, faced targeting as well.

The strikes extended to civilian infrastructure, highlighting the depths of Ukraine's strategic resolve. A factory belonging to Bunge Global SA, the St. Louis-based agricultural company, was bombed in Dnipropetrovsk, spilling some 300 tonnes of vegetable oil across roads and destroying property. Residential areas in Nikopol also came under fire. In Tver, a downed Russian drone struck a residential tower block, killing one person and injuring two others.

This relentless campaign suggests Ukraine has moved beyond survival mode into a new phase: one of systematic attrition against Russian military capacity and the economic infrastructure supporting Moscow's war effort. Whilst Putin's commanders descend into alcoholism and mutiny on the frontlines, his enemy is methodically dismantling the industrial base that sustains the war. The contrast could not be starker.

Why This Matters Now

If accurate, these reports represent one of the most serious internal challenges to Russia's military since the invasion began.

For Putin, whose authority rests heavily on control and discipline, the optics of officer flight and alleged intoxicated leadership are deeply corrosive. Whether or not the Kremlin can restore order may shape the next phase of the war.

Originally published on IBTimes UK