Key facts
- Russian prisoners of war claim they were abandoned by commanders without essential supplies.
- POWs stated they had to drink urine and water from puddles to survive.
- Claims are corroborated by Russian milbloggers who described severe shortages in the Lyman sector.
- One soldier reported losing over 60 kilos in six months due to starvation.
- Russian commanders allegedly lied to soldiers and superiors about the Ukrainian offensive.
- Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps claims over 2,000 Russian losses and 250 captured soldiers during Operation Vivaldi.
Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine have claimed they were abandoned by their commanders and left without food, water, or ammunition, forcing them to drink their own urine to survive. These allegations were made in a video released by Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps, which captured the soldiers during Operation Vivaldi, an offensive operation north of Lyman.
Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the 3rd Army Corps, addressed the approximately 50 captured soldiers in the video, stating that captivity was the best outcome for them. The captives described being left without medical care and, in some instances, resorting to drinking from muddy puddles and streams. One soldier, identifying himself as a deputy commander of the 3rd Assault Company of the 283rd Regiment, 144th Motor Rifle Division, stated he had lost over 60 kilograms in six months and that soldiers were dying due to a lack of food. Biletskyi also claimed one captured soldier died shortly after being taken into custody due to acute starvation.
The captured soldiers, many from the 144th Motor Rifle Division, also alleged that their commanders misled them about the scale of the Ukrainian assault. They reported that officers abandoned their positions, turned off radios, and instructed them to hold their ground. This narrative is echoed by Russian milbloggers, who have independently described severe shortages of water, food, communications, and logistics in the Lyman sector. One blogger, "Management Speaks," posted on Telegram that soldiers had been without water for days and had resorted to drinking urine. Another blogger, "Military Informant," criticized the stream of false information from commanders, which misled both soldiers and the country's leadership, citing the situation around Sviatohirsk, Kupiansk, and Borova as examples.
These reports of misinformation have reportedly caused embarrassment for Russian leadership. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously claimed the capture of Sviatohirsk, only for Biletskyi to release a video touring the town and asserting Ukrainian control. Ukrainian mappers and OSINT analysts were reportedly asked by the 3rd Army Corps to delay publishing maps of Ukrainian advances to prevent Russian command from realizing the offensive's scope. Oleg Tsaryov, a former Ukrainian MP who defected to Russia, noted the unusual silence surrounding Ukraine's offensive near Krasnyi Lyman and urged Russian authorities to acknowledge and explain any failures.
The 3rd Army Corps claims to have inflicted over 2,000 Russian losses and captured more than 250 prisoners during the "third season" of the Vivaldi counter-offensive. While these exact figures cannot be independently verified, footage released by the Corps shows a substantial number of Russian prisoners.