Ukrainian forces seize 386 square miles of Russian territory
2:41 PM EDT, August 13, 2024
The Armed Forces of Ukraine control about 386 square miles of Russian Federation territory. Soldiers from Vladimir Putin's army are surrendering practically without a fight, and one of them described the terrifying treatment they endure from their commanders.
Ukrainians began the operation in the Kursk region on August 6. They quickly took over successive villages, and battles are currently taking place around Sudzha.
As reported by Belsat on Monday afternoon, "the acting governor of the Kursk region, Aleksey Smirnov, informed during a meeting with Putin that 28 localities in the region have come under Ukrainian control."
We are grateful to all soldiers and commanders for their steadfastness and decisive actions. Among other things, we have instructed the Minister of Internal Affairs and other SBU officials to prepare a humanitarian plan for the operation area, said President Zelensky.
Soldiers from Vladimir Putin's army are surrendering practically without a fight, and one of them described the terrifying treatment they endure from their commanders.
Officials tied us to a tree or pipe and we sat there without water, without anything. Sometimes we sat for 24 hours, sometimes during the day, revealed the Russian soldier.
Ukrainians captured a Russian in Kursk. He talks about the commanders
Among those captured was Russian Private Dmitry Sergeyevich Melnikov, pseudonym "Mel," from the Bryansk region.
The group he was in lost half of its soldiers before reaching the position they were supposed to take. When the group commander died, the remaining occupiers found themselves at the epicenter of a massacre without coordination and support. They had no choice but to surrender.
However, something else is terrifying, as the man explained how the officers in their unit treat lower-ranking soldiers.
They would load the refuseniks in a vehicle and put us in a pit, and we would sit in it. When they were taking us to the pit, they took one soldier out of the vehicle. We heard a bang, and that was it. The same happened with another one later. Maybe they were scaring us or something. But I never saw those guys again, he added.
