Occupiers pretending to be victims

How Russian invaders - participants of "meat assaults" - justify themselves after being captured

The Zaporizhzhia front line is currently one of the most difficult. It is here that the enemy is trying to bring in new units, sending numerous "meat assault units" assembled in Russian colonies to reinforce them.

Most of these "stormtroopers" are "disposable fighters": they die in the first battles or are captured. They often go to the front directly from prison cells. "Recruiters" from the Russian Ministry of Defense promise them salaries and criminal records, and if they refuse to sign a contract, they threaten to increase their sentences.

A part of this enemy "meat platoon" was recently captured by soldiers of the 127th Brigade of the Tank Corps.

What the Ukrainian military say and what legends the occupiers themselves invent - read more in the article by Ukrinform.

THE FIGHT FOR THE POSITION

- At 6 a.m., two enemy infantry fighting vehicles and two tanks arrived. The enemy infantry stormed and seized our positions," a fighter with the call sign "Leva" tells about the events that recently took place on one of the front lines.

He says that he immediately ordered his group to retake their positions. Six soldiers went to assault. The battle lasted about 45 minutes.

- When we approached, we heard a conversation. While we were figuring out who was sitting there and they were figuring out who was leaving, I approached about 15 meters and asked them what city they were from. I heard "Perm" and offered to surrender. They opened fire. They were supported by an AGS (grenade launcher) and began to fire at us. Our second group moved forward. I was wounded by grenade fragments and had to move to the end of the group. A fellow soldier with the call sign "Brat" took over the command," says the fighter, whose name is Anatoliy (call sign "Gemini").

During the assault, our guys shot down an enemy armored personnel carrier and captured 9 invaders.

- These were trained people. It was clear that they had been preparing for several days. As we found out later from the prisoners themselves, they had been practicing at the training ground for about 3-4 weeks," adds "Leva".

We managed to talk to Russian captured soldiers. However, listening to their version, one might think that they are talking about completely different events and a different battle.

NOT AN OCCUPIER, BUT A "VICTIM OF DECEPTION"

Back in November 2023, one of the enemy "stormtroopers" was in prison for the murder of a friend in a second-class car. During the conversation, he repeatedly emphasized that he didn't even have time to jump off the train at the time, he was immediately arrested.

He served 10 years (he was sentenced to 14 years in total). He says that he did not want to fight against Ukraine, but the colony management "forced" him to.

"We were recruited. I didn't want to fight. I said before that if there was a war, I would go to the side. I saw a tank for the first time when we were brought to the "barb", where we were taken. I surrendered myself. It was a pure hearted thing. I just waited for them (Ukrainian military - author) to come closer and threw down my assault rifle and raised my hands. I didn't make a single shot. And when I was jumping off the tank, my own [Russians] threw a shrapnel grenade after me. This is because I wanted to escape," says one of the fighters of the "meat squad" called "Storm V".

He went on to tell how he allegedly crawled almost unconscious to a tree and waited there for the Ukrainian military to approach. During the conversation, he repeatedly asked to be given a map to show him where the Russian equipment was located. He said he was ready to "betray" his own. He does not want to return home to his native Tomsk.

"I'd rather stay here with your guys... I'll go as a сontract military man with your guys," he shouted.

He really wanted to show something on the maps literally from the first minutes of his captivity. One of the soldiers of the 127th Brigade told us about this. In fact, this was the only coincidence in the stories about the events of that day.

Another prisoner named Vladislav was in prison for robbery. When representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry offered to sign a contract, he had six months left to serve.

"They said that if you didn't sign, they would give you 10 more years for refusing to go to war. I signed a one-year contract. That was November 2023. The three of us were taken to the firing range. We were there for two and a half weeks. Learned how to shoot, how to aim. That was it. Mostly we carried stuff, dug. Then we came to the village and there we were preparing for the mission - to seize a certain area and hold out there for three days. We hid in the trenches with our group. We were not allowed to come out. I had already thrown away all my weapons and intended to surrender. We didn't even fire a shot. The commander fought back, and I told him right away: "Let's surrender," and he said: "No, we'll keep going." And at that moment a grenade flew in and he was killed," he told his "legend" of captivity.

He was also wounded in that battle. The Ukrainian military provided him with first aid. Obviously, this surprised the Russians, because they were told that Ukrainian soldiers were keeping captured enemy soldiers in the cold.

- And after these horror stories, were you still not afraid to surrender?" I asked.

"No. I was ready. I think I deserve it if I went to fight for Russia. It's very shameful. We are not respected, they (the commanders - author) threw us like meat," he says.

When asked if he had ever thought about what he was doing with a weapon in his hands on the territory of another state, he could not answer.

More precisely, he said: "I have no idea".

When asked if he considered himself an occupier, he asked who the occupier was. After clarification, he said that he still did not consider himself an occupier.

"I didn't want it," he clarified.

- "Then who are you? A liberator?" he was asked again.

His answer was another denial.

- "And who are you then?" he was asked to say his own version.

"Just a victim of deception," he replied.

He is 20 years old, as it turned out later, and this is his second conviction. He even managed to receive and spend RUB 195,000 from the Russian Defense Ministry.

"We spent it on groceries, clothes, and bought a car so we wouldn't have to walk to the store," he said.

According to him, if he is included in the exchange lists, he would rather serve an additional 10 years and tell all his "friends" not to sign a contract. He also said that prisoners from Irkutsk, Saratov, Perm and other colonies were taken to Ukraine with him to fight in the war.

SIX CONVICTIONS AND PRISONER "TALES"

Russian soldier Oleg was the most talkative. He has six convictions. He is 50 years old and from Usuriysk. The scheme of getting to the front is the same. But, according to him, he was not supposed to get into an assault unit and take direct part in the fighting. He was promised that he would be engaged in "logistics, digging trenches."

"We got caught in storm 143. They threw us in. The command was not to fight, but to scout for enemy groups. As soon as we got in, we were bombed. I got lost, I didn't know the way and went into a wooded area, I saw Ukrainian flags. I sat down in the first dugout. I sat there all night. Ukrainians passed by, they spoke in Ukrainian. In the morning sappers came in, and I went out. I had only one automatic rifle, nothing else. The TV showed that they were beating (the Poloneniks), there were talks that Ukrainians were beating and torturing them in captivity. I was met by kind people. I am terrified that I came to fight... The fact that I came here is my wild mistake. I am ashamed in front of Ukrainians," he said, taking on the persona of another "victim of deception."

He then took out a piece of shrapnel from his pockets that allegedly hit him in the heart, but got stuck in his jacket.

"We are just thrown to the slaughter, under artillery, mortars... On TV they show that only military targets are bombed, but here they say that maternity homes and schools are bombed. I have seen good villages and schools bombed here," he added.

He does not want to return home. He also says that it would be better to "do good in Ukraine if possible." He called the Ukrainian military lions fighting for their country, while Russia promised him money and blocked his bank card instead. So he hasn't received a single ruble in the month and a half of war. He ended his "speech" with the words "Glory to Ukraine".

The rest of the prisoners are also convicts, one of them has eight previous convictions. They all claimed that they surrendered without a fight. They joined the war because they wanted to make money and "clear their reputation of criminal records," explaining that Russia has passed a law that says all criminal records are "expunged" upon signing a contract.

TAKEN PRISONER DESPITE ANGER

A soldier of the 127th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF), call sign "Brat," who commanded the battle during which the prisoners were taken, assured that the Russians fired back hard.

- They were trained, they fought back, they had a leader. They were not just a bunch of random people. They held their positions to prevent us from giving them up," the fighter says.

He added that despite the risks and feelings of anger toward the enemy, he realized that they had to be taken alive so that they could be exchanged for our captured soldiers.

The commander, who sustained shrapnel wounds to his face and arm in that battle, adds that the Russians started shooting after they offered to surrender.

- If they shoot at you, you have to shoot back. Otherwise, you will be killed," says "Gemini".

As for whether these Russians were prepared for an assault or were just digging trenches, he noted:

- "It's not enough to wave a shovel to take an observation post, and they took our observation post. So it's not that simple.

Olha Zvonariova, Zaporizhzhia

Photo by the author