Video captured by a Ukrainian military drone near Bakhmout shows a Russian soldier surrendering and begging the Ukrainians to let him live.
Poignant images worthy of the greatest war films. Video revealed by the Wall Street Journal shows a Russian soldier surrendering to the enemy by communicating with a Ukrainian drone that was both a witness and actor at the scene.
The facts happen on May 9th. Ruslan Anitin, a Russian soldier, is the last survivor of a trench in Bachmout, where one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict takes place. Around him, several of his comrades are dead, killed by Ukrainian drones.
As two planes pass overhead, he is seen crossing his arms and begging Ukrainian forces to save his life. By communicating by gesture, he tries to establish a code: A drone flash would mean “yes”, two flashes would mean “no”.
“Surrender, follow the drone”
With the drone, the Ukrainians throw a note at his feet that reads: “Surrender, follow the drone.” In response, the drone flies from right to left to say “no.”
Remotely controlled by the device, the Russian soldier makes his way to the Ukrainian camp. Visibly exhausted and shocked, he occasionally pauses to drink or smoke a cigarette. He seems to be the target of artillery fire several times.
After a little less than a kilometer of walking, the video shows Ruslan Anitin arriving in the Ukrainian trenches and being stopped by a soldier.
“I felt sorry. Even though he’s an enemy, even though he killed our men, I felt sorry for him,” a Ukrainian drone operator told The Wall Street Journal.
Ruslan Anitin said, as a journalist for the American daily explained, that he does not regret his gesture, although he risks imprisonment in Russia in the event of a prisoner exchange. “Let them lock me up. I would like to return home to my family and never experience what I saw here again,” he said.