Footage has emerged of a group of captured Russian prisoners calling Vladimir Putin a 'd**khead'. Watch below:
The group of six were a reconnaissance team that was led by Major Viktor Blyudin, and had been situated in the forest in the southern part of Chernihiv oblast.
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However, after being informed that some of their comrades had been killed nearby, they surrendered on Monday (14 March) to a group of civilians in Sribne.
And in a video posted to social media, the soldiers can be seen being interrogated by their captors, ordered to say that they are safe and will not be killed.
One of the Russian soldiers is asked if he has a wife and what he would say to her when he sees her.
He replies: "I really love her and hope that she will forgive me for coming here."
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He is then asked what he would call Putin and his government, replying: "Scumbags."
Another – reportedly one Anton Nikulkov – is told to say 'Putin is a d**khead', before saying: "Glory to Ukraine."
A solider named Dmitry Kamyanikov is also seen in the full video, asking to be forgiven for his actions.
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He says: "I stand in front of them guilty, I didn't want to go to war here. I haven't killed anybody, I swear. I'm asking for your forgiveness for coming here."
He then tells his comrades: "Resign from your army posts and get out of here."
The footage comes after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine had captured almost 1,000 Russian prisoners of war since the conflict began on 24 February.
In a conference call with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan, Zelenskyy said: "We have already almost 1,000 prisoners and their video testimonies."
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He went on to say that he was keen to work closely with the ICC to make sure that 'those who invaded our territory for nothing are punished'.
Earlier this month, a captured Russian soldier was filmed urging his family not to believe the narrative touted in his home country, claiming that Vladimir Putin’s invading troops are killing civilians in Ukraine.
In the video, shared on Facebook by the Security Service of Ukraine, the prisoner of war said that the Kremlin was ‘brainwashing’ people and asked Russians not to believe everything that they hear in the media.
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He also claimed that Russian troops are killing children and babies in Ukraine.
The soldier said: "What is happening here [in the Ukraine] is all Russia's fault. Neither Ukraine nor anyone else. They [Russian troops] killing people civilians. Babies are being murdered."
Topics: Ukraine, Russia, Politics, World News