Russian soldier ‘follows drone’ as he surrenders while his countrymen ‘fire at his back’
11 May 2023, 09:02
Russian soldier signals his surrender to Ukrainian drone 'near Bakhmut'
Ukrainian troops helped a Russian soldier surrender in remarkable footage purportedly from the front line in Ukraine.
The soldier, who was alone in a trench in Bakhmut, was filmed begging the Ukrainian defenders not to bomb him with a drone. They instead dropped a letter to him offering a chance to surrender.
The letter contained instructions on how to give himself up.
He climbed out of the trench and on to open terrain, and followed the drone to a Ukrainian position.
He can be seen gesturing to markings on his uniform, indicating he rejects them before following the drone into captivity.
He makes his way past the bodies of his former comrades, with reports suggesting Russians opened fire on him as he fled.
It is unclear if he was hit by their gunfire but at points his movement is laboured, indicating a possible injury.
“The unmanned combat aerial vehicle squad detected a Russian soldier, who asked not to bomb him,” he added.
“Our team dropped him a note with a request to surrender and follow a drone. He agreed, although his ‘fellows’ were firing at his back,” said a Ukrainian drone commander who shared the vivdeo on Telegram.
Mykhailo Fedorov, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, confirmed that the Russian had been taken into custody.
“The enemy noticed the drone and began to make gestures to show a desire to surrender,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Infantrymen and scouts accompanied him all the way to Ukrainian positions.”
Ukraine has published information for Russian troops on how to surrender, including via a telephone hotline dubbed “I want to live”.
The use of drones as a means to surrender has been reported since last November and propaganda videos have been released detailing how Russians can give themselves up to drone operators.
