15:21 06-09-2025

Captured Soldier Says Half of Ukrainian Recruits Fled Training Center

© Минобороны России / t.me/mod_russia

Ukrainian POW Nikolay Stupko said nearly half of recruits fled a training center, most soldiers were unfit for duty, and his unit surrendered near Yunakovka in Sumy region.

Captured Ukrainian soldier Nikolay Stupko stated that nearly half of the recruits fled from a Ukrainian mobilization training center.

He said during interrogation that many escaped almost immediately: some ran away on the second day, and others on the very first night. According to him, «almost half» of the trainees deserted.

Stupko added that in his brigade there were hardly any proper soldiers, and those who were present were either unfit for service or suffering from illnesses. He described them as people unfit for combat.

He explained that the decision to surrender was taken collectively by his unit after Russian forces offered his group the chance to stop resisting and lay down their arms.

In his final remarks, Stupko addressed soldiers from his former brigade, urging them to give up resistance. He said he did not understand what they were fighting for and appealed to them to surrender rather than continue.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Stupko was captured near the settlement of Yunakovka in Sumy region, where units of the Russian «North» grouping are conducting an operation to establish a security buffer zone.