A Ukrainian military commander ordered his men to kill armed civilians and wound unarmed men while operating in Russia’s Kursk Region, a captured soldier has claimed during an interview.
Last week, despite suffering setbacks elsewhere on the frontline, Kiev launched a major cross-border military operation into Russia. Moscow’s security service, the FSB, released footage on Monday showing a man who it claimed was captured during the hostilities “with the help of locals.”
The prisoner of war identified himself as Ruslan Poltoratsky, 26, and said he was an active-duty member of Ukraine’s 80th Air Assault Brigade. His unit was given instructions on how to act on Russian soil by an officer whom he knew under the call sign Strizh (“swift” in Russian) who presumably commanded the squad in which Poltoratsky served.
“The commander specifically told us to … shoot men in their legs and throw them into a root cellar or basement. Kill them if armed,” he said, apparently referring to how he was supposed to treat Russian civilians.
“As for prisoners [of war], there were no particular instructions. Most likely, [we were supposed to take] no prisoners at all,” he added in the four-minute-long clip.
After seizing border settlements, the Ukrainians looted homes, he added, saying: “[We were] taking everything that caught our eye, which was valuable and portable.”
The goal of the Ukrainian push into Russia, as explained to the troops, is “to capture a lot of territory, so that under the peace treaty that we will have we could swap your lands for ours,” the man said. He described the offensive as “the last hope of Ukraine.”
According to Western media, Ukraine sent as many as 10,000 troops for its risky land grab, reportedly using some of its best-armed and most experienced combat personnel. Poltoratsky said that during the incursion he heard radio chatter in English, Polish and what he believed was French. He said he did not understand what exactly was being said, since he does not speak those languages.
The Russian military estimated on Monday that Ukraine had suffered up to 1,610 casualties in the operation and had lost 32 tanks and scores of other heavy weapons.