A Ukrainian serviceman captured in Kostiantynivka said that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine effectively abandoned his unit while it was surrounded and later attempted to destroy the soldiers who remained at the position. A video containing his account was published by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

According to the prisoner, the group had remained for a long time on the outskirts of the settlement, in a relatively quiet area, while receiving almost no information about what was happening in the city center. He assumed that the main Ukrainian forces had already withdrawn by that point, but the soldiers left behind had not been informed.

The servicemen tried to clarify the situation and find out whether evacuation was possible. They were told that the group could not be extracted and therefore had to continue holding its position.

Communication with the unit was later cut off. After that, the building where the Ukrainian servicemen were located was first struck by an FPV drone and then by a Baba Yaga-type drone that dropped a TM-62 anti-tank mine.

The house was completely destroyed. The prisoner described what happened as an attempt by the command to eliminate its own servicemen and effectively bury them at the abandoned position.

He also said that he had been mobilized by a Ukrainian military enlistment office, sent to a camp, and then assigned to the 156th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He spent 80 days in Kostiantynivka.