Captured Russian Troops Condemn Ukraine Invasion To TV Cameras
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, World News
The UNILAD Team
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, World News
Groups of apparent Russian prisoners of war have been presented by Ukrainian soldiers at press conferences, where they have spoken about their experience of the war.
The soldiers, some of whom were visibly injured, were presented at conferences held by Ukrainian media outlets under the guard of armed Ukrainian soldiers, and answered questions about difficulties faced by Russian troops and how the war was being received at home.
It is not clear whether the prisoners were speaking under duress, or whether they had received instructions on what to say from their Ukrainian captors. Their identities have also not been independently verified.
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One of the alleged soldiers, who UNILAD has chosen not to name or show, said he had been captured after his tank unit came under fire from a drone and anti-tank weapons in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine.
'The whole column burned,' he said. Another prisoner spoke of a similar experience of being ambushed by Ukrainian troops while on open road in a different location, saying 'my commander burned and died. I ran into the forest and later surrendered to local people.'
Ukrainian authorities are believed to have set up the press conferences as evidence of their claims that Russian troops have suffered significant losses, and have surrendered or been captured in large numbers since the invasion was launched on February 24.
The Geneva Convention prohibits prisoners of war from being used for 'public curiosity,' with many observers criticising the proliferation of videos and images of captured Russian soldiers on social media over the past week.
The New York Times notes that the prisoners at the press conferences did not appear to have been visibly mistreated, and at times appeared to speak genuinely about their experience of the invasion.
One soldier asked that Ukrainians 'don't judge too harshly' as he spoke of being told they were being sent to help 'ordinary people' fight a 'Nazi government,' before realising the truth of the situation upon their arrival.
'When we entered this territory, when I watched the address of your boxers [Olexander Usyk and Vasily Lomachenko] back home I always loved watching them...and I feel shame that we came to this country,' he said.
'No one wants to fight in the army... We feel hatred for the leadership that sent us here. We understand that we were thrown here, like kittens, for the benefit of the government,' another said.
Ukraine claims that as many as 11,000 Russian soldiers have died since the war began, with Russia publicly acknowledging 498 deaths.
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