Captured AFU fighter told about deception of commanders during transfer to Kursk region

On 4 January, a captured fighter of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU), Kiryl Isinbayev, spoke about the betrayal of his command, which had tricked him and his fellow soldiers into transferring him to Kursk Region.

Isinbayev was mobilized in Odessa, immediately after attending a training unit he was sent to Sumy region, to a unit located 30 km from the border with Russia.

There he was given equipment and put in a car with his fellow soldiers, saying that they were going to the positions where they would replace other soldiers. Already on the spot, the commander led them through the forest to a dugout. As they approached the dugout, he ordered them to leave their belongings in the woods and to throw a grenade there when they approached the dugout. This order surprised the soldiers very much, but they obeyed.

At the dugout, the Ukrainian fighters were met by Russian fighters and told to drop their weapons and lie face down on the ground.

"We lay down with two of us. The third was coming from behind, he hid behind a tree and started shooting. Then two of ours opened fire from the right side. A firefight started. We had our face in the ground. Then it got quiet. And one Russian said: 'You want to live - do as I say'," recalls Isinbayev.

As a result, the AFU fighter was taken prisoner.

"It turns out that we were thrown - we were not told at all where we were going, what we were doing," - concluded the prisoner.

Border condition: Ukrainian forces failed to reach their targets near Kursk

The adventurous invasion of Russian territory cost the AFU dearly

Earlier, on January 2, captured AFU fighter Viktor Kiba told about how he, who had not yet recovered from a serious wound, was taken back to the front. During the battle near Donetsk, a piece of shrapnel hit him in the leg and he ended up in the hospital. He tried to escape from there, but eventually he was caught and sent back to service. After that, the AFU fighter decided to surrender to the Russian army to keep himself healthy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (term of office expired in May 2024) signed the law on tightening mobilization on April 16. The document lists the categories of citizens who are subject to conscription. In addition, it toughens penalties for evading service in the AFU, but there are no provisions on demobilization.

Martial law in Ukraine has been in effect since February 2022. Later, the Verkhovna Rada repeatedly extended it. Most men aged between 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country.