**Source**: [https://zaxid.net/viyskovi\_121\_brigadi\_zayavili\_pro\_kritichnu\_nestachu\_yizhi\_ta\_vodi\_na\_pozitsiyah\_na\_zaporizhzhi\_n1643386](https://zaxid.net/viyskovi_121_brigadi_zayavili_pro_kritichnu_nestachu_yizhi_ta_vodi_na_pozitsiyah_na_zaporizhzhi_n1643386)

**Text from the source:**

Soldiers of the 121st Separate Territorial Defense Brigade recorded a video address to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi. The soldiers complain about a critical shortage of food and water at their positions in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

The video address by the soldiers was published on Facebook on Sunday, August 9. Lieutenant Anatolii Seishchuk, commander of the fire support platoon of the 3rd Battalion of the 121st Brigade, said that he and his soldiers arrived at the positions in April this year to replace servicemen who had been there for eight months. According to him, the command had stated that logistics were well organized, so the soldiers would regularly receive food, water, medication and other necessities. However, he said, the soldiers receive packages with food and water once every 3–7 days, and due to a lack of drinking water, they are forced to drink their own urine. The servicemen also complain that they do not receive medication on time, and in some cases do not receive it at all.

*“To keep our bodies going, we drink our own urine and wait for them to drop us at least something. \[...\] Our relatives and the command of our battalion were told that we were fully supplied and had everything, but that is not true. They drop 4 kg of food and three bottles of water for all my personnel, while other servicemen receive food packages weighing 9 kg. When I ask over the radio for them to drop food for us, I get various excuses in response. \[...\] We order medication and also do not receive it on time, and sometimes we do not receive it at all. Some of my servicemen spent several days semi-conscious due to a lack of water and food,”* the serviceman said.

Anatolii Seishchuk said that the soldiers had already appealed to “other authorities” with their complaints, but had not received any help, so they decided to record a video address to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi. He also said that he had decided to leave the positions without waiting for a replacement and asked for a safe corridor to be organized for their evacuation.

*“I have decided that, under favorable conditions, my personnel and I will leave the position without waiting for a replacement, because we have neither the strength nor the ability to remain at the positions. We are not refusing to serve, but we have no other way out. We ask for a corridor for a safe exit and transportation for evacuation. You are our only hope \[Mykhailo Drapatyi – ed.\]. We do not know whether we will survive until favorable weather conditions arrive. Either the enemy will destroy us, or our own commanders. We are counting on your understanding and your help,”* Anatolii Seishchuk said.

On Monday, August 10, the 121st Brigade responded to the soldiers' video address. The brigade acknowledged that it is indeed difficult to deliver the necessary supplies to the positions where the servicemen are stationed on time. This is due to unfavorable weather conditions, constant actions by Russian forces and enemy electronic warfare systems. The brigade also said that its command is “doing everything possible” to rotate the soldiers. At the same time, it denied the claims that the servicemen receive food packages weighing less than those delivered to other units.

*“Food, medication and other necessities are delivered by drones to hard-to-reach positions according to a set schedule. Over the course of a month, 27 packages were delivered to the unit, each weighing approximately 9 kilograms. \[...\] The information stated in the video address does not reflect all the circumstances. At the same time, we report that the brigade command is doing everything possible to carry out a rotation in the near future,”* the brigade said in a statement.

**The 121st Separate Territorial Defense Brigade** was formed in Kirovohrad Oblast in 2018. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the brigade's soldiers have carried out combat missions in Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

In April 2026, soldiers of the 14th Brigade's 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who were carrying out combat missions in the Kharkiv direction, also reported disruptions in the supply of food and water. The soldiers claimed that they were forced to go hungry and collect rainwater.

On April 24, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the commander of the 14th Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Anatolii Lysetskiy, had been removed from his position. It said that the brigade command had concealed the loss of some positions and the situation regarding the servicemen's supplies.

Soldiers of the 121st TDF Brigade appealed to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi over critical shortages of food and water at their positions, which forced them to drink their own urine