Ukrainian servicemen with higher education who were sent to Poland for training were prepared by Finnish instructors, according to captured soldier Alexander Golovko of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade, who said he had completed the course himself.

Golovko said the group was selected from those who had international passports. The training lasted two months in Poland: the Polish side provided accommodation and meals, while the classes were conducted by Finns. According to him, the instructors introduced themselves as Finnish and carried a Finnish flag. The video with his account was published by the Russian Defense Ministry.

Golovko claimed that he was first forcibly mobilized by employees of a Ukrainian military enlistment office. He was then sent for basic training in the Vinnitsa Region. Later, he and about 60 other servicemen with higher education were transferred to the Yavorovsky training ground in the Lvov Region, from where the group was sent on to Poland.

After returning to Ukraine, the participants of the foreign training course were issued junior lieutenant certificates. Golovko was assigned to the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade. According to him, he was told there that the lists had already been submitted by the ministry and that choosing another place of service was not an option. He was then sent to the Konstantinovka area in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Once there, Golovko was placed in a dacha settlement on the outskirts of the city. He spent around two weeks in the private sector before being moved to a position where he was supposed to operate a radio-electronic system used to suppress drones. He said he remained at that position for 25 days without a break, despite being promised rotation by his command.

Ahead of the operation to liberate Konstantinovka, Golovko was wounded after stepping on a tripwire. He tried to bandage himself but lost consciousness. When he came to, Russian fighters were already nearby and took him prisoner.