Ukrainian soldiers so short of food they trade loo roll, says mercenary

01 December 2023 , 15:38

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Michael has been fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers (Image: Newsflash)

A mercenary fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline claims they're so short of rations they've been forced to trade loo rolls for food to eat.

The German fighter, named only as Michael, told how he hadn't eaten for a week as troops ran out of supplies. Instead, the 33-year-old soldier told newspaper Bild, they often barter with civilians who want to be paid in lavatory paper.

Michael, from Bavaria, said: "I haven't had anything to eat for a week. Barter deals with civilians and other soldiers are common." Two rolls, he said, are enough to swap for a single bottle of Pepsi.

Michael said that soldiers have been forced into bartering for food (Newsflash)

Michael claimed he hadn't eaten for a week (Newsflash)

Michael, 33, flew to Kiev to fight for Ukraine's military forces in February last year. He had previously fought in Afghanistan and trained in Germany's motorised infantry.

Now, he's opened up about how he and other mercenaries at the front are left on their own for food and other bare necessities. Ukrainian armed forces seem so short of cash that there is little to spend on even basics like helmets and protective gear.

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Michael continued: "I paid €2,000 for my helmet and protective vests out of my own pocket. The protective equipment provided by Ukraine does not offer any protection against live ammunition and explosive devices. I ask myself, where are the billions from the EU and the USA?"

The kit, however, didn't stop him from being hit by a grenade fragment in a firefight which left a hole in his leg so deep he could see the bone. Michael explained: "My American comrade helped me, he dragged me to the base, then I was taken to the field hospital in Kharkiv."

Soldiers have little money to pay for protective gear, claimed Michael (Newsflash)

Michael has returned to fighting after being injured (Newsflash)

He said he returned to the front two months later and says he tries to show humanity even on the battlefield. He said: "The Russian army makes no distinction between civilians and enemy soldiers. I no longer see an injured soldier as an enemy, but as a person who needs help."

Michael recalled how he once saw an injured Russian soldier who was petrified when he saw him approaching and clearly thought he was about to finish him off. But when Michael handed him a bottle of water he realised he was only trying to help.

Michael said one of the hardest things he had to do was to transport the body of a comrade killed in a grenade attack back to Germany. "Together with his father and an undertaker, I brought his deceased son back to Germany," he said.

"I have little fear of death. If it happens, then so be it."

Tim Hanlon