The Third Army Corps has released a video showing a mass surrender of Russian soldiers, in which the occupiers explain their decision to surrender by citing hunger, exhaustion, administrative chaos, and threats from their own commanders; it is also noted that it is increasingly not infantrymen but specialized personnel of the Russian Armed Forces who are being taken prisoner.
"The Third Army Corps has released a video showing the mass surrender of Russian soldiers and their interaction with Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky. During the three phases of Operation 'Vivaldi,' more than 250 enemy soldiers were captured alive, including dozens of officers. The occupiers attribute their decision to surrender to hunger, exhaustion, administrative chaos, and threats from their own commanders, who, under pressure from the Third Corps, are losing control of the situation," according to a statement from the corps' press service received by Interfax-Ukraine.
In a video released by the corps, the prisoners claim that due to a lack of provisions at their positions, they are forced to eat nettles and tree bark and hunt wild animals. To stave off dehydration, the Russians resort to rainwater and, at times, their own urine. The wounded are not being evacuated from their positions: their only chance of survival is to crawl to the evacuation point on their own. During a conversation with Biletsky, the commander of the Third Army Corps, one of the Russian officers confirmed that troops are dying en masse from exhaustion and starvation. Another reason for capture is the administrative chaos in Russian headquarters, which, under pressure from the Third Corps, have begun to lose control of the battlefield.
It is increasingly not infantrymen but specialized personnel who are being taken prisoner. "Several Russian regiments are now falling apart. That is precisely why it is not even infantrymen who are being taken prisoner, but UAV pilots, mortar gunners, and electronic warfare specialists. We encounter infantry in the trenches less often than specialists," Corps Commander Biletsky said.
Captured Russian officers report that eight months ago, the situation on the front changed dramatically – the advance halted, and it became impossible to carry out orders from the command. Addressing the Russians, Biletsky said: "Capture is the best thing that could have happened to you, because in the near future your troops will face an even worse hell."
As previously reported, over the course of three phases of operation "Vivaldi," the Third Army Corps liberated 176 square kilometers in Lyman sector, eliminated over 5,000 enemy troops, and captured 250 Russian servicemen.
As part of this operation, the Third Army Corps is facing off against the forces of three Russian armies: Russia's 20th Combined Arms Army, Russia's 25th Combined Arms Army, and Russia's first Guards Tank Army. As a result, the offensive by the West Troop Group – formed from troops of the Moscow Military District – was halted, and the enemy was exhausted, defeated, and pushed back.
The 20th Combined Arms Army of Russia has been the main adversary of the third Assault Corps ever since a unit of the third Assault Brigade shifted its operations from Avdiivka to Borivka sector.
"Throughout its participation in the full-scale invasion, the 20th Army under Yurchenko's command has been responsible for numerous crimes against the Ukrainian people. In Ukrainian human rights databases and projects documenting war crimes, Yurchenko has been included in the relevant registries. Among other things, there is a documented case in which Ukrainian prisoners of war were executed using shovels. The execution was captured on thermal imaging. "The army commander at the time reported this incident to higher command, and those who carried out the execution were awarded (by the previous army commander, Alek Mityaev)," according to the reference section of the third Army Corps' statement.
It is noted that personnel of Russia's 25th Combined Arms Army were involved in mass war crimes on the territory of Ukraine, including the torture of civilians, the execution of prisoners of war, and the terrorization of the civilian population in Kharkiv region in 2022, while occupiers from Russia's first Guards Tank Army have committed numerous war crimes against the civilian population and infrastructure in Kyiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions.
