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Russians surrender to elite brigade while Kharkiv front holds, says Ukraine
Down angle icon An icon in the shape of a downward pointing angle. Screenshot from video from the 3rd Ukrainian Assault Brigade, in which Russian soldiers are captured in the Vovchansk region. 3rd Ukrainian Assault Brigade
- Dozens of Russian soldiers have surrendered in Vovchansk in recent weeks, Ukraine says.
- A video released by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade appeared to show Russian prisoners of war.
- The Russians reported heavy losses, poor conditions and a lack of support from senior officers.
Russian soldiers are surrendering to an elite Ukrainian combat brigade in the city of Vovchansk in the northern Kharkiv region, reports say.
A video released Wednesday by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade appears to show Russian troops emerging from a trench with their hands raised above their heads or tied behind their backs.
The video appeared to confirm recent reports that dozens of Russian soldiers were surrendering on the outskirts of Vovchansk, where heavy fighting has occurred since Moscow launched a cross-border offensive against Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, last month.
The prisoners of war were later filmed and interviewedsitting in what looked like a classroom.
Business Insider was unable to independently verify the video.
Several of the captured soldiers said they were forced to join the Russian army due to financial or legal problems. Some said they received only a week of training before being sent to the front.
Food and water were limited and they often had to buy supplies with their own money.
Almost all prisoners stated that their units suffered serious losses during attacks on Ukrainian positions.
“We got an order to attack positions inside a chemical plant. I don’t know, maybe there were 70 of us. We drove there at night,” said one prisoner of war.
“The drones came out of nowhere and destroyed almost everyone. Most of us were hit. Only seven of us survived and we were injured. Then we were taken prisoner,” he said.
Another soldier said he was taken prisoner after being the “only survivor” of his unit.
Many complained about the leadership of their officers, who they said did not participate in the costly attacks.
Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade has published images of Russian soldiers it says it captured in recent fighting. 3rd Ukrainian Assault Brigade
The video appeared to confirm heavy Russian losses and surrenders in the region, revealing that Russia’s attempt to open a second front in northern Ukraine has stalled.
Last week, Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Khortitsiya Regional Command, responsible for ground operations in the area, claimed that “around 60 Russians” were captured in a single day of fighting.
Vovchansk, five kilometers from the Russian border, was 70 percent under Ukrainian control, Voloshyn said.
A previous video published on June 6 by the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade, appeared to show two Russian soldiers, both wounded, being captured during a Ukrainian counterattack on Vovchansk.
In February, around 30,000 Russian troops began crossing Ukraine’s northern border into the Kharkiv region, opening a new front to Ukraine’s already stretched defenses.
However, four weeks later, Russian forces stalled and White House national security communications advisor John Kirby declared the offensive “almost over”.
The Institute for the Study of War he said that Putin may have rushed the offensive in an attempt to pre-empt the arrival of Western aid – fielding “an insufficient force” in the process.
RAND geopolitical strategist Ann Marie Dailey formerly counted BI that Putin probably never had the means to capture the city of Kharkiv, but hoped to create a buffer zone to protect the border region of Belgorod from Ukrainian attacks.
However, Dailey told BI, “I think there is a broader offensive effort that we will see from Russia later this summer.”