Russian soldier drives TANK into commanding officer in protest about horrific losses among his comrades, reports claim

A RUSSIAN soldier allegedly drove his tank into his commanding officer as he protested horrific losses among his comrades.

Colonel Yuri Medvedev was hospitalised with severe leg injuries after the reported incident which came amid growing fury over Vladimir Putin's disastrous campaign in Ukraine.

Medvedev was seen in a video released by Russian forces being transported to hospital across the border in Belarus.

However, it was claimed that the footage - released two weeks ago - showed him after he was injured in battle.

But now Ukrainian journalist has offered a different report on the footage.

Tsimbalyuk was famously the last Ukrainian journalist left in Russia before finally fleeing in January before the invasion.

He reported the colonel was run over by one of his own men who was furious after 750 out of 1,500 soldiers in the unit were injured or killed.

The officer has reportedly been awarded the Order of Courage.

Footage shows him being unloaded out of the back of armoured car as Chechen fighters as they ask him "How are you? Okay? Talk to us?".

It is unknown what happened to the soldier after he allegedly ran over Medvedev - and it is latest example of dissent among the Russian ranks.

"A military officer of the tank battalion accused the death of friends and co-workers of the brigade commander Colonel Yuri Medvedev," wrote Roman.

"After choosing a convenient moment, during the fight, he ran over the tank of the commander standing next to him, injuring both his legs."

Russia is facing catastrophic losses - with reports of up to 15,000 men being lost in the war since Putin invaded last month.

And the frustration is growing, with intercepted radio messages showing the anger of troops who have branded the invasion a "s**tshow" and a "madhouse".

Putin's soldiers are understood to have been sold a lie - with some told it was a training exercise and others assured they would be welcomed as heroes.

It comes as:

• Vladimir Putin's £500million gold plated monster yacht has been pictured as the crackdown continues on dirty Russian money
• Russian "ghost buses" are secretly shipping out Putin's war dead as more than 15,000 troops are believed to have been killed
• President Zelensky saluted the courage of his troops and warned Ukraine is on the "brink of survival" against Putin
• Russian forces face running out of food and the war could be over in weeks
• Mariupol remains under siege as dying kids are forced to eat dog and drink radiator water to survive
• Putin's demoralised and frostbitten troops revealed they thought they would be met with a "victory party" in Ukraine
• Pictures show inside the amazing Red Cross hospital on the frontline helped to save the lives of babies fleeing Ukraine

Instead of being met with flowers and waving Russian flags, they have been met civilians armed with molotov cocktails and AK-47s.

Russians have been surrendering - including one soldier who drove his tank up to the Ukrainian lines and told them he wanted to defect.

Brutal execution squads are reportedly being deployed by Russia to stop their men deserting under pain of death.

Pentagon officials have reportedly said soldiers are simply parking their vehicles and walking away from the fighting into woodland.

And meanwhile, one soldier complained about his troops getting frostbite in an apparent intercepted phone call.

Further interceptions released by Ukrainian Security Service include soldiers lamenting their forces are being "torn apart".

“Basically, it’s a s**tshow here, I’ll put it that way,” an unnamed soldier near Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine said.

The Centre for Defence Strategies, a leading Ukrainian think-tank, said: "Russian forces are aware of the hopelessness of their situation and increasingly choosing desertion to avoid death."

It is reported that at least 17 top Russian commanders have been killed and the Kremlin has launched a "witch hunt" to find someone to blame for the failures.

Defence minister Sergei Shoigu has not been seen in public for 12 days as "incandescent" Putin reportedly has grown frustrated with him.

And elsewhere, Russian general Vladislav Yershov has reportedly been placed under house arrest as part of the purge after losing 2,000 men.

The Kremlin had expected to roll over Ukraine in a matter of days, but the war has ended up seeing his forces bogged down.

Kyiv still stands and Ukrainian forces are reported to actually be pushing back in certain areas, retaking areas previously lost to the Russians.

Moscow's forces appear to have pushed into Ukraine while underequipped, undersupplied and undertrained.

And they have found themselves being broken against the bulwark of the resistance.

Ukraine is now littered with the burnt out wrecks of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles, the charred shells of crashed aircraft, and the dead bodies of Russian soldiers - many of who were teenage conscripts.

Experts have said that Russia appears to have been "winging it" - and is now suffering its biggest military losses with World War 2.

Putin's cronies have now reportedly launched a vicious witch hunt to root out the "guilty men" behind the failures in Ukraine.

Sources claim the mad tyrant is "incandescent” that the US and Britain have received leaks of his military plans which have been passed onto the Ukrainians.

It is believed this alleged leak is seen in part as the reason why top generals and his most elite forces have been targeted so effectively and picked off.

The war continues - with intense fighting particularly focused on the city of Mariupol, which has been decimated by an ongoing barrage by Russian artillery and warships.

It comes as a UK military expert claims Russian troop morale is collapsing in the face of heavy casualties and logistical nightmares.

Professor Michael Clarke, former director of the Royal United Services Institute think tank said on Thursday: "The Russians are making almost every tactical mistake it is possible to make."

He added: said: “The Ukrainians are stalling the Russian advance in all areas and operating quite effective counter attacks. The Russians are losing a lot of equipment and troops.”

Putin is becoming so desperate he is recruiting mercenaries and private contractors to boost his depleted forces.

Morale among Russian troops is believed to have collapsed with some now shooting themselves to avoid being sent to the front line.

Ukraine claims as many as 15,300 Russian troops have been killed, more than 200 aircraft have been destroyed, along with more than 500 tanks, 1,500 armoured vehicles and 70 fuel trucks.

In one intercepted conversation, a Russian said: “They’ve been shooting at us for 14 days.

"We’re scared. We’re stealing food, breaking into houses.

"We’re killing civilians.

“Officers shoot themselves in the legs to go home. There are corpses everywhere.”

Another said troops “look for Ukrainian ammunition to shoot themselves in the legs and go to hospital”.

Ukraine's hero president Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday said he believes his country is teetering on the brink of survival as he decried the Russians "barabarism".

He called for face-to-face talks with Putin and said it was “already understood” Ukraine could not join Nato.

But Ukraine “would have to be destroyed” before he handed over any land, he vowed, and he would never surrender.