Moment Ukrainian soldiers forced dozens of Russian troops to surrender

Footage has emerged of the moment Ukrainian soldiers forced dozens of Russian troops to surrender amid the offensive in Kursk by aiming the barrel of their tank at a bunker. The clip, released by Ukraine’s 22nd Separate Mechanised Brigade, showed a column of Ukrainian armour trundling through the forest in Kursk before a tank rolled up on a Russian hideout. The barrel was brought to bear on the Russian position by Junior Sergeant Maksym, 35, and a gaggle of Vladimir Putin ‘s troops quickly poured out, holding their hands and rifles aloft in a sign of surrender.

Moscow’s troops were later seen kneeling in a line or sitting on the turf with their hands tied behind their back as Sgt. Maksym and his comrades flashed grins at the camera. Sgt. Maksym told The Sun : ‘They weren’t in the mood for fighting. They were afraid. When soldiers can see a tank gun pointing at them, they can’t even imagine fighting it.’

Footage of the incident, which took place in the early days of Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory, surfaced as the commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said this week that his troops have captured 594 Russian prisoners in the operation in Kursk, though those figures could not be confirmed. The Kursk operation, the largest incursion into Russia since World War II, has forced some 130,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Sgt Maksym said that his unit was told about their role in the invasion just 24 hours before the operation began, and explained how the Russian defenders were caught completely unawares. ‘It was a huge surprise. We weren’t expecting this kind of operation at this time. ‘Imagine how surprised they were.’

He said of the Russian units’ attempts to defend the border: ‘They were stupid. They were totally destroyed. Everyone who attacked us was killed.’ Russia has since sent reinforcements into Kursk, but it is not clear to what extent the movements might be weakening Russia’s positions in Ukrainian territory. The Russian Defense Ministry asserted Tuesday that Ukraine has suffered heavy casualties in Kursk – some 6,600 troops killed or injured – and that more than 70 tanks have been destroyed along with scores of armoured vehicles.

Like Ukrainian Gen. Syrskyi’s claims, those figures could not be independently confirmed. Fighting in the region has raised concerns about dangers to the Kursk nuclear power plant, said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, who visited the site on Tuesday. He said in a post on X the situation was ‘serious’ and called any attack on a nuclear plant unacceptable. ‘There is now a danger of a nuclear incident here,’ Grossi said. ‘Today I was told about several cases of drone attacks on the territory, on the plant’s facilities. At the plant I saw traces of these attacks.’ But the plant now is operating ‘in a mode very close to normal,’ he said.

The head of the Ukrainian army’s claim of territorial control came hours after the second consecutive barrage of nighttime air and missile attacks from Russia. Five people were reported killed and 16 injured in the attacks, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said included 81 drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles. In the Kyiv region, which struggled with blackouts after Monday’s onslaught that targeted energy facilities throughout the country, five air alerts were called during the night. The regional administration said air defenses destroyed all the drones and missiles but falling debris set off forest fires.

After Monday’s barrage across Ukraine of more than 100 missiles and a similar number of drones, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said ‘the energy infrastructure has once again become the target of Russian terrorists’ and urged Ukraine’s allies to provide it with long-range weapons and permission to use them on targets inside Russia. President Joe Biden called Monday’s Russian attack on energy infrastructure ‘outrageous’ and said he had ‘reprioritised US air defense exports so they are sent to Ukraine first.’

He also said the US was ‘surging energy equipment to Ukraine to repair its systems and strengthen the resilience of Ukraine’s energy grid.’ The Russian Defense Ministry said the attacks used ‘long-range precision air- and sea-based weapons and strike drones against critical energy infrastructure facilities that support the operation of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex. ‘All designated targets were hit.’

Ukraine on Monday also lost the first of its F-16 warplanes which crashed as it was repelling the major Russian attack. The jet came down and its pilot died while it was approaching a Russian target, the Ukrainian General Staff confirmed yesterday. ‘Connection with one of the aircraft was lost while it was approaching the next target. As it turned out later, the plane crashed, and the pilot died,’ the statement said.

Possible causes from pilot error to mechanical failure are being investigated as defense officials said the F-16 was not downed by Russian fire.

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