They intercepted recordings from a Russian phone. This is what the soldiers are up to

Ukrainians intercepted recordings from the phone of one of the Russian soldiers. He is part of the "Redoubt" formation, which is a private military company. The videos helped establish the personal details of individual men who terrorized Ukrainian villages.

Thanks to the fact that the mercenaries often share in their recordings what they're currently doing, journalists have been able to track down where they are and what they're called.

A video was also found on the phone, showing how soldiers abducted a man in the village of Bobrowa.

In another recording, the mercenaries described their journey to Kiev.

We got here without any losses, we arrived quietly. Now we are resting, and soon we'll be back on the road to Kiev - reported one of the soldiers.

The recordings show mercenaries driving over residents' properties, looting their homes, taking over their real estate, and stealing their cars. In one, they boasted about a seized Mercedes.

The mercenaries quickly realized that the road to Kiev wouldn't be so straightforward.

- Will this day ever end??? I don't recall any of the instructions stating that light infantry soldiers should be fighting with damn artillery - rages the military man.

When the Ukrainian army began to recapture regions of Kharkiv, some of the military "Reduts" were moved to the city of Balakleya. In their vlogs, they reported on every day of their stay there.

We are Russians, God is with us. I'm damn fed up with this, I'm damn scared. All around us are only Ukrainians. It's like a ring full of Ukrainians and we're in the middle of it all, said the soldier in the recording.

The private army had a plan to take over this region, but they failed. After a week, they were stopped by the Ukrainian armed forces.

After a few months of arrest, the combatants were judged for torturing civilians in Borowa.

We were supposed to go in there, and they were supposed to surrender. With weapons. I don't feel guilty because I was following orders. At the same time, I feel guilty because I was listening to orders - one of the mercenaries, Mikhail Ivanov, said in a conversation with a journalist.