A Russian soldier captured by Ukrainians said in a newly published video that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military enlistment officers “encourage” people to fight in the war by threatening them with false criminal charges.
Ukraine has previously posted videos of Russian prisoners of war speaking with their captors. The videos have typically presented a negative picture of Putin’s forces fighting in Ukraine, such as a June clip shared by Ukraine’s security service of two captured Russian soldiers describing how military units from their country shoot their own retreating troops.
The video of the Russian soldier describing enlistment officers’ threats—which could not be independently verified by Newsweek—was posted Monday on Telegram by Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Kyiv’s ground forces. Ukrinform, a Ukrainian media outlet, provided an English translation of the soldier’s words.
According to Ukrinform’s account, the prisoner said he was given an ultimatum: either serve in the armed forces to fight in Ukraine or go to prison for drugs that would be planted on him. The soldier reportedly said such a threat from enlistment officers is common in Russia.
Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty
The soldier was described as a 32-year-old native of the Kalmykia region of Russia. Before his time as a private in the military, he served a sentence in a penal colony. Upon his release, he was ordered to report to the federal penitentiary system for supervision, which is where he said he met with military enlistment officers.
On July 13, he avoided the threat of false drug charges by signing a contract to join the armed forces. He said he had been promised that his criminal record would be expunged, as well as a payment of 200,000 rubles (approximately $2,116). Instead, he said, he’s been paid only 27,500 rubles (about $287).
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.
During the video, the private also reportedly described not receiving proper training before going to war. He also told his interrogators that he had been promised a promotion to a higher rank—which he never received—because he has a college degree.
Once he found himself on the combat field, his unit lacked sufficient water and food rations. Eventually, the unit was hit by a grenade attack from Ukrainian forces. According to Ukrinform’s translation, he said he suffered a concussion and serious wounds during the assault.
His comrades retreated, leaving him behind. He almost bled to death before Ukrainian forces captured him and saved his life, according to Ukrinform.
