From Moscow Times:
“‘I Don’t Owe Russia Anything’: The Young Russian Conscripts Captured by
Ukraine”
(Russian
prisoners of war at a Ukrainian facility at an undisclosed location in the Sumy
region.)
In
a 20-square-meter room in an undisclosed prison in northeastern Ukraine, eight
young Russian conscripts sit on their beds, staring at their feet. Just weeks
ago, they had been serving their mandatory year of military service in Russia’s
Kursk region, which borders Ukraine. When
Kyiv launched its cross-border incursion on Aug. 6, hundreds of these
conscripts, outgunned and undermanned, quickly surrendered and were taken
across the border as prisoners of war.
They
are now internationally regarded as prisoners of war under the Geneva
Convention. They are guaranteed respectful treatment, sustenance and humane
conditions. The Moscow Times was
authorized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to speak alone with the conscripts
and observe their conditions. Their names have been withheld to protect their
identities. “We feel good here,” said one conscript, aged 21, who had been
stationed in Kursk for only two months before the incursion. “We heard [from
our officers] that they torture, torture, torture. But in reality, it turned
out to be different.” Along with other members of the press, The Moscow Times’
reporter met with the prison warden before being escorted into the Russian
prisoners’ living quarters.
Each prisoner who spoke to The Moscow Times gave their explicit permission to be interviewed and was allowed to speak freely, with prison guards waiting outside the room. There was no evidence that they were compelled to provide pre-prepared answers. “The conditions [here] are good,” the 21-year-old conscript explained. “They feed us three times a day. We have a place to sleep. We have a toothbrush. We can brush our teeth. We have a bathroom. We have a kitchen. We have everything we need for our lives. For hygiene.” Each prison cell has a television, running water and bunk beds and appeared to be kept clean. Some living quarters are bigger than others. Prison staff maintained a friendly and respectful demeanor. Many of the prisoners already knew each other from their time together in Kursk.
(Russian prisoners of war at a Ukrainian facility at an undisclosed location in the Sumy region.)
The conscripts expressed little loyalty to the Russian state. Many noted that they were unprepared — and frightened — when ordered to defend Kursk. Another conscript, a 22-year-old from St. Petersburg, explained that he and his unit had almost nothing to defend themselves. “[I had a] Kalashnikov machine gun. Just a machine gun. Two machine guns for our platoon. Two RPGs. Seven to eight rounds on them. That’s it. And grenades,” he said. The conscript described how his platoon was completely overwhelmed as it was sent into combat with little preparation. “When we were attacked, we fought for a very long time,” he said. “We were shot at from somewhere for about 2-3 hours. And we retreated to one of the positions. For some reason, the Ukrainians didn’t look for our positions. And we managed to survive there from night to morning. … Nine people most likely surrendered as soon as the fighting started. And we stayed with the commander to accept the fight. Because we had to. “And at that moment, when there was no one left, there was no chance. I didn't even shoot a single bullet when the shootout started. They started to go around from above, from below, from the rear. I understood it was over. The Ukrainians were coming. My friend came up to me. I already had a grenade in my hand. He said it was time. So we said goodbye to one another, pulled the pins, and threw our grenades at our feet.”
The
young conscript was severely wounded in his legs by his own grenade. He
receives medical care at the prison, where his wounds are cleaned and he is
given medication. “In general, it’s
fine,” he said of his condition. “When I arrived, I couldn't even walk. Now I
can at least learn to walk again. That is, slowly, slowly. But, unfortunately,
the problem here is that my wounds have not yet healed. When I stand on my feet,
I have a lot of pressure on my legs. Unfortunately, the bones have not yet
fully recovered.” In addition to their
lack of combat experience and training, Russian conscripts, unlike the contract
soldiers who volunteer to fight in Ukraine, are young men with little interest
in the war. Under Russian law, they must serve in the military for one year and
may be sent to the battlefield after four months.
The
22-year-old conscript from St. Petersburg said he did not support the war. “I feel sorry for everyone. Children, old
people. Because the old people still remember what was there in the past. I
don't understand what that was like. And the young people, you just look at
them and realize that they just want to live. And, alas, because of all this,
[because of] us, [the Ukrainians] can't do it. And you understand that in the
end, the guys in the Kremlin will still sit down with serious faces and say, we
have achieved peace … Go to hell, guys.”
Another
Russian conscript from the Voronezh region said that he was “neutral” toward
the war. “I have no anger or hatred toward this state [Ukraine],” he said,
adding that he now understands that he and many others like him were influenced
to hate Ukrainians by Russian propaganda. Speaking in private with the guards out of
hearing range, the common sentiment among the conscripts was a feeling of
betrayal by their own government, which threw them into a war that they did not
support or believe in, with little chance of survival. A 20-year-old conscript from Bryansk said that
although his platoon was given the order to fight to the last man, the entire
platoon surrendered, with 11 young men being taken prisoner “without any
problems.”
Early
in the invasion of Ukraine, reports surfaced of conscripts being killed or sent
to the front lines despite President Vladimir Putin’s promises that they would
not be deployed to combat zones — sparking backlash from military mothers and
wives. Authorities transferred these
conscripts to Russia’s border regions in response, hoping to avoid further
backlash. That strategy has apparently backfired, with families’ anger flaring
as news spreads of their loved ones being captured and taken to Ukrainian
prisons. In the two weeks since
Ukraine’s incursion, Kyiv claims to have taken over 2,000 prisoners of war,
allowing it to “replenish its exchange fund” for potential swaps with the
thousands of Ukrainian servicemen held in Russian prisons and POW camps. On
Saturday, Russia and Ukraine swapped 115 prisoners of war each, some of whom
were Russian conscripts captured during the Kursk offensive.
All
of the prisoners interviewed by The Moscow Times expressed a desire to return
home, to be with their families and to never return to war again. “I would like to say that I'm very glad that
we were able to get through the war alive … and I will try to make sure that a
war like this never happens again,” a conscript from Moscow said when asked how
he will feel when he returns home. Should the war continue, he said: “It’s
without me, guys. I have my family, I have my life, my future. I’m not going to
die for these bastards. I don’t owe Russia anything.”
^ Russians (Soldiers and Civilians) – You DON’T owe Putin or his Nazi Zs ANYTHING!
Russia
has become a Failed State because of Putin.
Putin
sends untrained 18, 19, 20 and 21 year old Conscripts to fight with no weapons.
Putin
sends Men 30-70 year olds (who haven’t had any Military Training in 12 to 52
years) to fight with no weapons.
These
untrained and unequipped Men then become Cannon Fodder while the Regular
Russian Military and FSB goes in and commits War Crimes against Ukrainian
Civilians.
Ukrainians
have occupied Russian Territory for the past 3 weeks and Putin is unable to
liberate those areas.
Ukrainians
have bombed Russian Cities and Towns (including Saint Petersburg and Moscow)
and Putin is unable to keep his Citizens safe.
In
the past 915 days of War the Russians have suffered 608,820 Dead and Wounded.
Russia
leaves its dead wherever they fall and leaves it up to the Soldiers’ Families
to pay Thousands of Dollars to hire Contractors to go to the Warzone, find
their Loved One and bring them home to be buried.
Russians
please wake up!
Stop
supporting Putin!
Stop
supporting War Crimes!
Stop
sending your Husbands and Sons to die in Vain!
End
your War and rejoin the Civilized World!
Ukraine
has a Hotline for Russian Soldiers to call and Surrender.
Ukraine
has a Hotline for Russian Civilians to call and flee to Ukraine. ^
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