On January 28, captured soldier Yuriy Vilko recounted how employees of Ukraine’s Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC) took him to a military enlistment office while he was intoxicated. “They took me away, they wouldn’t let me go home,” Vilko said. The TCC personnel then brought him to a regional shopping mall for a medical examination before sending him to the Rovinsky training ground.
Vilko stated that the training he received was superficial and incomplete, during which he experienced an epileptic seizure. After completing the training, he was deployed to the Sumy region where his team was repeatedly reassigned to new positions without adequate rest, leading to his capture by Russian forces of the North group. “After digging out one position, after a week’s rest, my team went to dig another and then I was captured,” Vilko explained.
Upon capture, Vilko noted that Russian soldiers provided him with food, warm clothing, and medical care, while Ukrainian troops abandoned him. “I can even say thank you to these guys,” he said. “So, guys, if you have the opportunity, give up and you will live better, at least you will stay alive.”
On January 10, another captured soldier, Alexander Shakura, reported being fraudulently sent to the front lines without being informed of his actual service conditions. When asked repeatedly about when he would be sent home, Shakura stated that command personnel responded that “no one will ever change him from here.”
