A Ukrainian unit captured dozens of Russian soldiers during a counterattack in the Kharkov sector

A prominent Ukrainian combat brigade confirmed earlier reports that it had captured dozens of Russian soldiers during fighting in the northern combat sector, releasing photos and videos on Wednesday showing the capture of 24 Kremlin fighters.

A 28-minute YouTube video posted by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade claims that all soldiers sitting in a school conference room were taken prisoner during combat operations around the northern Ukrainian city of Vovchansk.

The introduction to the video claimed that all Russian soldiers spoke voluntarily on camera. Apart from one soldier with a bandaged hand, none of the prisoners of war suffered any visible injuries.

Kyiv Post reported that the two soldiers shown in the video were previously seen on a helmet camera and were captured by Ukrainian forces on Monday. Ukrainian military social media first reported the surrender of a significant number of Russian troops in the sector last week following counterattacks by Ukrainian infantry assault units.

Earlier reports by the Kyiv Post confirmed that Russian soldiers surrendered in Vovchansk and the surrounding area to elements of the 3rd Assault Brigade, the command of Ukraine’s Border Troops, its 36th Marine Brigade, special operations units and the national guard. A June 7 statement from the Khortić Regional Command, the Ukrainian military command mainly responsible for ground operations in the sector, said that more than 60 Russian soldiers had been taken prisoner there in less than a week.

Two 3rd Brigade officers told the Kiev Post that there have been a large number of Russian surrenders during recent fighting. By reviewing Wednesday’s video, the language used by the soldiers, their accounts of combat, photos of Russian military identification documents, previous content posted by the Brigade, as well as descriptions of the prisoners’ backgrounds, Kiyiv Post concluded that the video is authentic.

Most of the soldiers speaking in the recording complained that they were forced to enlist in the Russian army due to financial or legal problems, that the training was superficial, and that there was a lack of food and water after being deployed. One of them said that other soldiers beat him because his asthma prevented him from moving fast enough.

Almost without exception, prisoners said their units suffered devastating losses during mounted attacks on well-prepared Ukrainian positions supported by artillery and FPV drones. Some reported that in one attack the casualty rate exceeded 90 percent, with regular Russian army officers remaining behind the lines and not commanding or participating in the attacks.

“We were ordered to attack some positions in the chemical factory. I don’t know, maybe there were 70 of us. We rode there at night in BMPs (infantry fighting vehicles).

“The drones arrived almost immediately and wiped out almost everyone. Most of us were hit. They (Ukrainians) worked professionally. These were FPV drones using night vision. Then Baba Yaga (drones dropping heavy bombs) arrived. And then kamikaze drones. Only seven of us survived and we were wounded (sheltered) in a bunker. Then they (3rd Brigade infantry) came and took us prisoner,” said one of the Russian soldiers.

The units identified to which the captured Russian soldiers belonged were the 28th Motor Rifle Brigade and the 283rd Motor Rifle Regiment.

Several soldiers declared that they had become prisoners of war after being the sole survivors of an unsupported ground attack, going into hiding, and then being captured by Ukrainian attacking infantry the next morning.

A screenshot from a video by the Ukrainian 3rd Assault Brigade showing Russian soldiers captured during a recent action in the northern sector of Kharkov.

These accounts were consistent with helmet camera videos made public by Ukrainian soldiers and statements by Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) commanders that Russian attacks in the Kharkov sector had effectively ceased and that Kiev forces launched short-range counterattacks in early June.

Russia says it has captured about 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers since it began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Nearly half were captured after the encirclement and 85-day siege of the port city of Mariupol on the Sea of ​​Azov. Kiev authorities reported that there are approximately 3,500-3,500 Russian soldiers in Ukrainian custody.

On-camera interviews with groups of Russian prisoners of war were extremely rare. On March 5, 2022, ten recently captured Russian soldiers answered questions from reporters at a press conference organized by the Interfax news agency. In April 2023, the Kiev authorities made the prison available to selected Ukrainian media, including the Kyiv Post, in order to conduct interviews with members of the Russian mercenary group Wagner.

Several soldiers told an unidentified Russian-speaking interlocutor that they had been forced to serve in the Russian army and that they had no choice but to take part in their country’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There is such a thing as an “order given in combat.” And if you, for example, as you would say, if you don’t do what they tell you, that’s it, well, you know, it’s an execution,” one of the soldiers explained.