‘You f***ing idiot, move back!’: Russian soldier accidentally fires RPG at his own feet during training
A video shared on social media shows a Russian recruit accidentally firing an RPG at his own feet during a training exercise, prompting his instructor, who was filming, to erupt in furious profanity-laced warnings. The clip is being cited as an example of the kind of carelessness and poor equipment maintenance that Kyiv says has contributed to enormous Russian losses since the invasion began, though such mishaps are difficult to independently verify and are widely shared for their shock value.
Ukraine's General Staff claims Russia has lost nearly 1.5 million troops in total, including roughly 1,500 in the most recent reporting day, alongside more than 12,000 tanks, 25,000 armoured vehicles and hundreds of aircraft and helicopters. Ukraine has not disclosed its own losses, though a US think tank estimated in January that Kyiv had suffered up to 600,000 casualties, including around 140,000 deaths. Separately, Vladimir Putin has issued a decree allowing the Russian state to seize control of critical infrastructure sites deemed poorly defended against Ukrainian drone strikes, following a wave of attacks on oil refineries and retail warehouses, including facilities belonging to major online retailers Wildberries and Ozon.
In short
- Video shows Russian recruit firing RPG at his own feet in training.
- Ukraine claims Russia has lost nearly 1.5 million troops overall.
- Putin decrees state seizure powers over poorly defended infrastructure sites.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates for this view argue that whilst individual accidents occur in all militaries, the documented pattern of such incidents combined with substantive reports of Russian casualties—corroborated by Ukrainian officials and independent US estimates—suggests genuine systemic deficiencies in training, discipline, and tactical competence. The extraordinary scale of losses indicates these are not isolated anomalies but symptoms of deeper institutional problems throughout Russian forces.
The case against
Sceptics contend that viral videos represent a fundamentally biased sample, as shocking accidents are amplified and shared whilst routine competent operations remain unfilmed. They argue that a single training mishap cannot reliably evidence broader military incompetence, particularly when casualty figures from Ukraine—possessing clear propaganda incentives—lack independent verification and should not be accepted as reliable indicators of systemic problems.
Explained simply
The RPG is a shoulder-fired weapon designed to launch a rocket-propelled projectile. Russian forces have used such weapons during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022. Training recruits to handle weapons safely is part of preparing them for military service.
Russia and Ukraine have both suffered heavy losses during the war, but reliable figures are difficult to establish. Ukraine’s government publishes estimates of Russian losses, while it has not disclosed a comparable total for its own forces; outside estimates also vary. Claims from either side and videos shared online can be hard to verify independently.
The war has also involved attacks on infrastructure, including Russian oil facilities, with drones used by both sides. In Russia, the authorities have given the state powers to take control of critical sites considered poorly protected against strikes.