Pyotr Grigorenko, a reconnaissance soldier from the 1487th Regiment of the Russian Battlegroup Center, managed to escape captivity almost immediately after a Ukrainian serviceman tried to capture him. The soldier told TASS about the incident.

According to Grigorenko, it happened after they entered a forest belt and came under fire. He and his partner took cover in a trench. At one point, explosions began nearby, and the reconnaissance soldier realized these were not cluster munitions. Then a grenade flew into the trench, which he threw aside.

After that, Grigorenko noticed a Ukrainian soldier. The Russian fighters first tried to pass themselves off as friendly troops, pointing to their red armbands, but in response they heard a demand to come out so they could be seen. The reconnaissance soldier stood up with his rifle and his hands raised, showing that he was ready to surrender.

At that moment, according to Grigorenko, he realized that the Ukrainian serviceman would not be able to get out of the trench quickly because of poor physical condition. The reconnaissance soldier took advantage of this: he struck the enemy with the rifle butt, then jumped out of the trench with his partner and escaped.

The soldier stressed that the entire situation developed very quickly and lasted only a few minutes.