para bellum
Diamond Member
Yes, I have to call bullshit on that one. There are only two confirmed Leo losses, and several reports of them taking multiple hits without any effect. There was one that lost a track on a mine, I can post a video of it being recovered if you like.I'm sure you'll peg it down as propaganda again but here's a story from a Hohol, that's said to be viral on the web these days:
The 2A6 that was destroyed was first disabled by a mine on June 9, the crew evacuated, and it was hit by an artillery shell and eventually burned out 2 days later. The 2A4 was hit by artillery near Novopokrovka on June 9, I don't know if the crew was still inside or not.
Note those dates are when the video was posted- the actual battles were a few days earlier.
In a Leo or Abrams, if the ammunition is hit, it just blows the doors off the ammo compartment- the crew compartment is separate from the ammunition, and they will usually walk away. They are not indestructible, but they are designed to take multiple hits and keep going.
The AFU doesn't even operate T-62's, so anyone who says an AFU soldier would prefer riding in a T-62 is just talking out of his ass. I would also mention that the Ukrainians didn't put green crews in the Leo's- they picked experienced crews to train on them because they are intended to be the pointy end of the spear.
So I think the "guy who knows a guy" is full of shit.
Wrt the castrations- I do not know the number, if it is "hundreds" or what. But I know it is not zero, because Wagner posted a video of them castrating a prisoner before executing him. There is also a report from a mental health professional in Ukraine who said two of her patients were castrated in captivity. One of them attempted suicide after he was returned in a prisoner exchange, and in both cases it took a couple months of counseling before they even opened up and told her the story.
There are numerous intercepts of Russian soldiers describing their various war crimes including torture, rape, and executions of civilians, and I've seen several videos of them executing prisoners.
The Russian forces are not well trained or well led, and when soldiers like that get frustrated, they tend to direct their anger on the civilian population and prisoners. It's not that surprising to see it happening in Ukraine.
There are also credible accounts of Ukrainian soldiers executing prisoners- it is not only happening on one side- but the crimes by committed by the Russian side are much more commonplace.
The UN recently released a report on torture of both civilians and prisoners, and they say it is widespread and likely state-sanctioned.

Widespread use of torture by Russian military in Ukraine appears deliberate: UN expert
GENEVA (15 June 2023) – The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards today expressed alarm at reports and testimonies which appear to indicate that Russian military forces in Ukraine are consistently and intentionally inflicting severe physical and psychological pain and suffering on...