Captured Ukrainian serviceman Mikhail Sklyar has described his training and conditions on the front line, claiming that Ukrainian commanders were more concerned with reports than with the actual situation on the battlefield.

Sklyar said he ended up at a territorial recruitment center after leaving home to go to a store. Two minibuses pulled up near a bus stop and eight people got out. He tried to escape but slipped in the mud after rain and was surrounded and detained.

Within one or two hours, he was taken to a Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center (TCC) and then sent for a military medical examination. He was later transferred to Sasovo in the Lvov Region, where his training lasted about two months.

During the first month, the recruits received instruction in basic medical care, radio communications, cartography and mine safety. According to Sklyar, the instructors themselves had no combat experience.

After being deployed to the front, the servicemen often had to remain at their positions longer than originally planned. One of the first positions assigned to Sklyar’s unit had not been prepared in advance, forcing the soldiers to dig and camouflage their own shelter with only a shovel, saw and axe.

Sklyar said the position subsequently came under prolonged drone and mortar attacks, causing extensive destruction in the surrounding area. He claimed that no air defense measures were taken, while commanders continued demanding that the troops hold their position and submit regular reports.

Russian troops eventually reached the position and captured all of the Ukrainian servicemen there, including Sklyar.

Earlier, captured Ukrainian soldiers Yevgeny Mosin and Sergey Stolyarsky of the 425th Skala Regiment thanked Russian servicemen for sparing their lives.