i ll shoot myself. but i couldn t. this video, shot by soldiers of ukraine s 3rd assault brigade, shows the tense moments when anton and his comrade, slava, surrendered. the ukrainian troops told them, unlike russians, we don t kill prisoners. we spoke to anton, slava, and other soldiers in a makeshift jail in eastern ukraine, concealing their faces and not using their real names. the th 3rd assault brigade gran us access to the p.o.w.s and two of their soldiers were in the room for the interviews. the p.o.w.s will be transferred to ukrainian intelligence. they didn t appear under duress and agreed to share their stories. slava, also serving time for drugs, said conditions in the trenches were grim. food was scarce, we didn t have medical kits, he says. his commanders took all the
unlike russians, we don t kill prisoners. we spoke to him and other soldiers, concealing their faces and not using their real names. the third assault brigade granted us access to the p.o.w.s and two of their soldiers were in the room for the interviews. the p.o.w.s will soon be transferred to ukraine intelligence. they didn t appear to be under duress and agreed to share their stories. slava, also serving time for drugs, said conditions in the trenches were grim. food was scarce, we didn t have medical kits, he says. his commanders took all the painkillers to get high, he recalled. and as a result, issued nonsensical orders. morale was terrible. sergei was wounded by a grenade before surrendering to ukrainian
soldier, slava, told us he s braced for the worst. he signed a six-month contract, but because he was captured, his time in captivity in ukraine won t be counted, and therefore, in the unlikely event that he will be offered over in an exchange, and in fact, the russians really don t even want these convictions back. they want real soldiers back. if he goes back in an exchange, he ll be sent right back to the front lines because he hasn t finished his contract. so my impression when we spoke to these men was that they were actually relieved, a, to be off the front line, and, b, to be somewhere where at least they know that they re not going to be sent right back into what s commonly known as the meat grinder of bakhmut, anderson. we appreciate it. thank you. a world away from that, a different story entirely, a shark on the move at a florida
their stories. slava, also serving time for drugs, set conditions in the trenches were grim. translator: food was scarce, we didn t have medical kits, he says. his commanders took all the painkillers to get high, he recalled and as a result issued nonsensical orders. morale was terrible. sergei was wounded by a grenade before surrendering to ukrainian troops. he was a contract soldier, not a conflict. he completed his six month contract and went home. but, when he hesitated to sign another contract, a military prosecutor gave him a choice. prison or back to the front. he ended up outside bakhmut, under constant ukrainian fire, discipline collapsed. the officers fled. all illusions were shattered. it was very different from what i saw on tv.