Ukrainian prisoner of war tells of AFU drone strike on commander

A captured serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Serhiy Shcherba, has told how his unit, disoriented by the noise of stun drones, became surrounded and surrendered, after which they were attacked by a Ukrainian FPV drone. A video of his story was released by the Russian Defense Ministry on January 25.

"The senior we had was Petrovich, he is a captain, and when we, the captives were being led, he was blown up by an FPV drone that flew up to his feet. Everyone realized that it was a Ukrainian drone," he said.

According to Shcherba, he has long avoided serving in the ranks of the AFU. After the announcement of general mobilization in the country, he hid in a dacha or temporarily went to relatives in other regions. Nevertheless, one day police officers together with representatives of the territorial manning center (TSC - the analog of military commissions in Ukraine) came to the man's house, handed him a summons and forcibly sent him to the training unit, despite his poor state of health.

The prisoner of war reported that due to the acute shortage of personnel, the training program for mobilized soldiers was reduced from 12 months to one. At the same time, the AFU instructors themselves did not know what they could teach the new recruits.

Shcherba added that his unit was mostly composed of people over 45 years old with serious health problems.

On the first combat outing of Shcherba's unit, the Russian military surrounded the stronghold and went to storm the Ukrainian positions. According to the captured militant, he and his comrades did not even immediately realize what had happened, as they were stunned. They realized their situation only when they heard the voices of Russian servicemen suggesting that they voluntarily leave the shelter.

The man added that the AFU dugout was poorly equipped and was a hole covered with plastic sheeting. Realizing that they had no chance against well-armed Russian soldiers, the Ukrainian fighters decided to surrender. They were then attacked by a Ukrainian FPV drone, killing the commander.

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The shortage of personnel is worsening in the AFU

Earlier, on January 24, captured AFU serviceman Alexander Svechkin said that he was mobilized after a medical examination, despite his poor eyesight and leg problems. After training abroad, he was sent to the camp of the 155th Infantry Brigade, which by that time had already been defeated.

Before that, on January 16, Ukrainian prisoner of war Ruslan Mirnyi pointed out that it was more important for the AFU command to preserve equipment than human lives. According to him, there is a very common desire among the soldiers of the Ukrainian troops to be visited by members of the Verkhovna Rada and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, 2024.

The special operation to defend Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.