Russian military told of mercenaries shooting AFU soldiers in Kursk region

Foreign mercenaries are shooting Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) soldiers as they try to retreat in Kursk Region. The deputy commander of the North detachment for combat units of the Russian Armed Forces (AFU) with the call sign Karachai said on February 4.

"We had a [AFU] prisoner who said that there were three mercenaries sitting 200 meters away at the position who would not let them back in. When we took this prisoner, he surrendered. And told us that if they went back, they would be shot," Karachai shared in a video interview provided by the Russian Defense Ministry.

The deputy commander of the detachment said that the RF Armed Forces units stormed the forest area, settlements in the Kursk region and carried out a purge. He also noted that the AFU command is committing deceptive actions against the personnel during the rotation.

"They simply brought them from Sumy region, put them in a position and left. [Sent them] as if on their last journey," the military man added.

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Earlier, on February 1, captured Ukrainian serviceman Oleksandr Prokopenko said that AFU fighters can liquidate fellow servicemen if they are captured. According to him, after he surrendered and Russian servicemen led him and fellow servicemen into the positions of the Russian Armed Forces, the AFU started dropping FPV drones. He suggested that the Ukrainian side was ready to kill its soldiers so that they, while in captivity, could not tell the truth about the state of the AFU and would not participate in the exchanges.

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