NewsUkrainian forces captured a Russian soldier. Hear his attempted deception

Ukrainian forces captured a Russian soldier. Hear his attempted deception

The Ukrainians captured a Russian soldier, who pretended to have no idea what was happening. The photo is an illustration.
The Ukrainians captured a Russian soldier, who pretended to have no idea what was happening. The photo is an illustration.
Images source: © Getty Images | LIBKOS

4:32 PM EDT, November 3, 2023

Ukrainian Armed Forces have captured a Russian soldier along the frontline who attempted to portray innocence and confusion about his location and the events transpiring around him. Upon questioning, however, it was revealed that he knew about the ongoing war, despite claiming that he thought he was in Russia, defending his country.

Such a performance is one that the Ukrainian Armed Forces hadn't witnessed at the front for quite some time. The Russian soldier played dumb, feigning unawareness when he was apprehended by the Ukrainians.

He insisted on his ignorance of his whereabouts and the situation around him, and claimed no knowledge of his own predicament. He stated that he was merely a Moscow citizen, sworn to defend his homeland as per his agreement.

The Ukrainians didn't buy into the Russian's explanations and probed him persistently. It soon emerged that the young soldier was in fact fully aware that his country had initiated an assault against its neighbor and that a bloody war was taking place in Ukraine. He simulated surprise as the Ukrainians told him that he was involved in this war.

"I signed a contract, I was only supposed to defend my country," he insisted.

As the interrogation progressed, it became evident that his memory wasn't as faulty as he portrayed. The Russian soldier admitted that his army had stationed him there and his unit was left to their own devices. He further recalled his country's declaration of war but still refused to acknowledge that he was in Ukraine with a mission to kill.

Unrelenting, the Ukrainians continued to question him about his presence in their country given that he was a soldier from Russia, which had attacked Ukraine. He begrudgingly admitted the ongoing war as his motivation for enlisting. He then acknowledged being captured on Ukrainian soil at the frontline. From that point, the pretense ended, although the farce continued.

Internet users ridiculed the Russian soldier and praised his attempted acting skills. An astute observer noted that while the soldier lacked the bravery to admit to the Ukrainian forces that he was their adversary, he wore a shirt labeled with "Z", which symbolizes the invasion and "special military operation" led by Vladimir Putin's army.

Perhaps the Moscow-based soldier was petrified of acknowledging his actions to the Ukrainians, as he may have been exposed to misleading indoctrination by political officers about the adversaries during his training. Conversely, he could just have been embarrassed about his involvement in the war and the subsequent abandonment by his superiors on the frontline.

Regardless, he was fortunate. His fate was being taken captive, not death.

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