The Russian soldier is now a prisoner or war (PoW) and being held in Mykolaiv city, in the South of Ukraine. The young man claims that there are more than 1,500 Russian soldiers like him, who surrendered to the Ukrainian army. TV channel 24 has received these exclusive images from our intelligence sources.
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"We are not peacekeepers here, we are murderers", the Russian PoW said.
Alexander said that the military commanders were convinced that they were going to Ukraine as "peacekeepers." However, he saw that this was not the case and quickly decided that it was better to surrender than to kill innocent civilians. The captured Russian soldier apologized to his people, although he worries that they will not forgive him. "In reality, we are like murderers, like fascists. Our troops just shoot at everything they see or do not see," the prisoner of war admitted.
"I want to appeal to all mothers, to my friends and to the Russian people: Stand up. We are the same people as the people of Ukraine. Even in captivity, I am being looked after and fed. And what about our army? It provided us with out-of-date rations. Young children are dying here. I have seen it with my own eyes and I do not want it to continue like this," Alexander said.
"When I turned away, my Russian comrades shot at me"
To finally tell the whole truth about the war waged by Russia against Ukraine, Alexander called his relatives and friends. Alexander asked his parents not to watch Russian state TV because it is only propaganda, pushing a false tale that Ukrainians ‘are evil’.
"Our government is fascist now. I surrendered because I will not shoot civilians," he said.
His mother, however, did not immediately believe him. Influenced by Russian propaganda, she asked why he was forced to say these things to her. Then she began to repeat the Russian propaganda’s fabrications that Ukraine was allegedly "dropping missiles on Russia." Alexander insisted that only the Russians themselves could do this. When he fled, even his own fellow comrades from the Russian forces shot at him.
"Many other Russians have surrendered alongside me. There are at least 1,500 of us, you know, who do not want to kill civilians," Alexander explains. "I surrendered because I see first-hand how Russia is destroying cities in Ukraine but for no reason, as there are no fascists here. But there are little children here. I also have a son, he is 3 months old. The same as the children here who are now hiding in basements.”
Relatives of the Russian soldier promise to sound the alarm
Alexander spoke not only to his parents, but also to other relatives and friends. He repeated to everyone that he needed their help, and with tears in his eyes Alexander protests that he is not a murderer. He is asking those who trust him to spread the word, to enlighten as many people as they can and go to the streets to protest.
One of the relatives (apparently an uncle) asked how he was treated in captivity in Ukraine. Alexander replied that he was given food and water three times a day. Alexander told his uncle that the Ukrainian people are good and there are no "Bandera" or nationalists who want to attack Russia. "Russia has come only to kill everyone here. We were told one thing, but in reality everything is different. I could not kill anyone, I fled," he repeated.
Most of the people Alex spoke with replied that they loved him and would do what he asked. "We wrote everything down, tomorrow your friends will write a statement. I swear to you. I saw everything on video, we understand everything. Take care," they replied to Alexander.