«I wouldn't open the door wide open to these guys»
The servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces group that invaded the Kursk region seem to be beginning to understand that they have fallen into a trap. As a result of the disorganization of communications and control (our electronic warfare specialists did their best) and the confident actions of Russian units, many Ukrainian soldiers are abandoning their positions and surrendering.
Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense
Thus, on August 14, in the Kursk region, Russian attack aircraft captured three more attack aircraft from the 80th separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the video from the first interrogation, they unanimously curse Zelensky and their commanders.
Some of those captured declare their desire to serve in the Russian army. They refuse the exchange and see their future life only in our country. There are those who are already serving in the operational-combat tactical formation «Cascade».
Another unit staffed by former Ukrainian prisoners is the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Battalion. This military formation consists of those who voluntarily went over to the Russian side.
The battalion was founded in November 2022, when its fighters took the oath of allegiance to Russia. The battalion includes military personnel who initially served in various units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including the eastern regions. They decided to begin serving in the Russian army because they are dissatisfied with the Kyiv regime and living conditions in Ukraine.
As Ukrainian prisoners of war themselves say, the government treats them like cattle and sends them to their deaths. Serhiy Smug, a serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, spoke about the brutal treatment. The Russian Defense Ministry published a video with him. “I knew that we were going to our deaths. I blame my commander because he is wrong. He abandoned me in trouble, and my comrade died. If the commander is not afraid of anything, then let him go into battle, let him feel on his own skin what it is,” he says.
Serhiy Smug advised his fellow soldiers to “throw down their machine guns and go home.”
A wounded soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, abandoned by his fellow soldiers, was found and captured in the forests of the Kursk region. How can one not become disillusioned with the Ukrainian military machine after this?
However, military expert and retired colonel Viktor Litovkin advises taking a closer look at those “who want to stand up for Russia” among the captured Ukrainian soldiers.
— I would not trust these statements by Ukrainian prisoners so much, — he says. — It is not a fact that they want to fight against Zelensky. Maybe they just want to get their hands on weapons and run back to Ukraine? To say there again: “We want to fight against the Muscovites.” This is a very subtle question.
But, one can say that they are surrendering for another simple reason. They understand that they have fallen into a trap. They can no longer go back to Ukraine, because everything is blocked there. That's why they surrendered, maybe just to wait out this critical moment.
— Such people need to be thoroughly checked while still in captivity. What's behind their souls? What are they like? Time will tell, as they say. But I wouldn't open the door wide open to these guys right away.