‘Nobody understood what was happening’: Meduza tells the story of Albert Sakhibgareyev — a Russian contract soldier who deserted from the war in Ukraine.

Five weeks ago, 25-year-old contract soldier Albert Sakhibgareyev was in Russia's Belgorod region, several miles from the Ukrainian border, where his brigade was "conducting training exercises." Sakhibgareyev says he and his fellow soldiers would fire "wherever they were ordered to," though what exactly they were firing at was unclear. According to him, he didn't understand he was in a real war until the Ukrainian side started firing back; soon after that, he deserted. Meduza reports on how a soldier from Bashkortostan decided enough was enough. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/03/25/nobody-understood-what-was-happening