Russian forces shot comrade trying to surrender, says Ukrainian soldier
A Russian soldier in Kherson tried to surrender but was shot in the back by his comrades, a Ukrainian soldier has told The Telegraph.
“One of them fell to the ground at the sight of us and shouted ‘just don’t kill please, I want to live’,” said Oleksiy*, describing the moment he came face to face with Russia’s forces. “His guys started shooting from behind his back, hitting him.”
Oleksiy, a 20-year-old from a small town in Luhansk whose name has been changed for safety reasons, is fighting on the frontline in Kherson as part of Ukraine’s fastest advances of the war so far.
The Kremlin is suffering heavy territorial losses in the region, abandoning positions they have held since March to avoid encirclement.
On Tuesday night President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Ukraine’s forces for their “powerful” fighting that has led to the liberation of dozens of towns in the south, citing eight that have recently been recaptured in Kherson.
Direct contact with those fighting is scarce - but The Telegraph was able to gain an exclusive look inside Ukraine’s offensive.
Oleksiy described Russian forces “running away” from advancing Ukrainians, leaving their “rusty” weapons behind.
“They have rusty and rotting machine guns, shells that mostly do not burst, which is very good for us, as well as equipment that is still from the USSR,” he said.
“They (the Russians) don’t fight badly, but they don’t have the goal of war like ours, so that’s how it turns out. Those who believe they are defending their territories die on our land.”
Before the war, Oleksiy had dreams of becoming a football coach but his life changed when Russia invaded in February.
“I wanted to take part in the liberation of my native land. I immediately decided that I would be a military man,” he said.
“There is a realisation that you put your life for the sake of young children, women and the elderly so that everything would be different in the future.”
In just a few months Oleksiy went from playing football to holding his friends as they died in his arms, which he said is “hard to accept and realise”. He said he had seen Russians showing “their middle finger or singing when they killed our guys”.
Killing the enemy is still difficult for Oleksiy, but he said the “taste of revenge” for his fallen friends is stronger.
“You’ll think I’m too rude to the Russians, but I’m sorry, we didn’t ask or force them to invade,” he said. “I feel both anger and hatred for them and it is getting even stronger.
“It’s difficult for us because they’ve been preparing for the invasion for many years, whereas we didn’t expect such a mean blow.”
As fighting in Kherson rages on, Oleksiy is confident that his forces can continue their advance and change the tide of the war.
“It will be difficult, but we will definitely return our lands,” he said. “I think a certain number will retreat, and we’ll knock out the rest from there.
“Thanks to the help of our foreign friends, the victory will happen many times faster.”
But Oleksiy does not know what he will do when the fighting stops.
“Alas, the war made me brave, but I would like another life, one where the plans for me were different.”
