Intercepted radio communications from the Ukrainian Armed Forces suggest that a group of Ukrainian soldiers in the Dnepropetrovskaya region refused to follow their commanders’ orders. When officers tried over the radio to compel them to return to their positions, the soldiers responded with profanity instead of compliance.

According to RIA Novosti, twelve Ukrainian servicemen came under fire from Russian troops, after which assault units of the Russian Armed Forces moved into the offensive. The Ukrainian command reportedly pulled back to the rear but continued to insist over the radio that the soldiers hold their positions.

In the exchange, one Ukrainian commander was heard asking why the unit was pulling back and what exactly was preventing them from staying put. He urged the soldiers to check whether their arms and legs were intact and stated that there was no possibility of rotating them out.

The soldiers replied that there were wounded among them and that no one intended to die in place. They added that if the command was so determined to cling to those positions, the officers could come forward themselves and be killed there. After that, the radio traffic was filled with further profanity from the Ukrainian side.