Russian troops from the Center Group of Forces repelled an attack by a Ukrainian Armed Forces company of more than 100 soldiers. Some of the Ukrainian servicemen were killed, while others surrendered, Russian fighters told Izvestia on May 14.
According to the Russian side, the Ukrainian command sent the unit on foot toward Russian positions through a forest belt. Stanislav Shkalenkov, commander of the Sarmat assault battalion within the Center Group of Forces, said the Ukrainian troops moved without dispersing, effectively trying to bring an entire company to the line of attack in one large group.
After the clash, Russian soldiers questioned the Ukrainian servicemen who had laid down their arms. Shkalenkov said he personally spoke with one of the prisoners. The serviceman provided valuable information to the Russian side and said he had ended up in the army after being forcibly mobilized.
According to Shkalenkov, he asked the prisoner who he was, where he was from and how he had reached the front. The Ukrainian serviceman replied that he had been taken from the street, had been forced to serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and had not wanted to take part in combat.
Russian fighters said Ukrainian troops sent into such assaults are typically given only basic weapons and a small supply of food before being pushed again toward Russian positions.
Ivan Gerasimov, a serviceman with the Center Group of Forces, said that an earlier group of about 20 Ukrainian soldiers had also tried to advance along one of the routes. They were dropped off several kilometers from their objective, but Russian units intercepted them on the approach. Some of the Ukrainian servicemen were taken prisoner in that engagement as well.
Gerasimov described such large-scale assaults as an attempt by the enemy to «do at least something.» He added that, in his view, the Ukrainian command shows little concern for ordinary soldiers.