‘Frankly, they tricked us’ Russian troops tell of reality shock and low morale

Five Russian soldiers sit in a brick building. They are blindfolded: the latest prisoners to be captured inside Ukraine. A Ukrainian voice interrogates them. “Speak,” he says to the group’s Russian officer. What message would he like to send to his soldiers and to Russians back at home?

“Frankly speaking, they tricked us,” the officer replies, referring to his military superiors sitting in Mos-cow. “Everything we were told was a fake. I would tell my guys to leave Ukrainian territory. We’ve got families and children. I think 90%