Pilots of a Russian fighter jet used in the operation against Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk have left a written message on a bomb complaining about issues with pay, according to an image shared on social media.
Since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s full-scale invasion in 2022, reports about low morale among Russian troops have abounded, with many expressing unhappiness about the quality of their commanders and military tactics.
While the Russian government has offered bumper pay packages to attract personnel, during the almost three years of the war, some troops and their families have complained about not receiving promised salaries.
In the latest reported claim, @wartranslated, a pro-Ukrainian account on X, formerly Twitter, posted an image of what it said was a glide bomb with a message from Russian pilots fighting against Ukraine.
“Well that’s a new one,” the X account wrote, adding that the pilots had made a written appeal to their superiors on a glide bomb in which they complained “about lack of bonus pay for bombing their own country.”
Well that’s a new one. Pilots of a Russian bomber left an appeal to the Ministry of Defence written on a glide bomb complaining about lack of bonus pay for bombing their own country:
“Dear Ministry of Defence, I’m FAB with UMPK.
Soon I will fly to destroy occupiers in Kursk Obl.… pic.twitter.com/dvK2O4ds6U— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) October 22, 2024
The image in the post showed the munition on which a message was written. The message began, “Dear Ministry of Defense, I’m an FAB with UMPK.” During the war, Russia has used FAB-500s—Soviet-designed 1,100-pound air-dropped bombs guided by the UMPK winged system.
“Soon I will fly to destroy occupiers in Kursk Oblast. I’m upset for my crew, they have not received bonus pay for counterterrorist operations since August. Sort it out! P.S. You can make mistakes, but you can’t lie.”
The undated image shared by other social media users has not been independently verified, and Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
This illustrative image from August 16 shows a destroyed vehicle next to a destroyed building in the Ukrainian-controlled Russian town of Sudzha, Kursk region. Russian pilots involved in fighting Ukraine’s Kursk incursion have reportedly complained about a lack of pay in a message written on a bomb.
YAN DOBRONOSOV/Getty Images
On August 6, Ukraine staged an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region and said it was able to quickly capture hundreds of square miles of territory.
While Moscow’s initial response was slow, it has reportedly deployed 50,000 troops from other parts of the Ukrainian front line, which has seen Russian forces continue to advance and recapture seized territory.
On Tuesday, Russian forces advanced in the northern part of the Kursk salient, with geolocated footage showing gains southeast of Korenevo, where there has been intense fighting and Ukrainian counterattacks.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian sources said Kyiv’s forces were using American-supplied M1 Abrams tanks in the Russian region for the first time in attacks near Novoivanovka, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
