A UKRAINIAN soldier has revealed how he captured 28 Russian prisoners of war after aiming a tank gun at their bunker in Kursk.
Junior Sergeant Maksim said: “They weren’t in the mood for fighting.
Ian WhittakerJunior Sergeant Maksim, 35, takes a selfie photo of the surrender of 28 Russian prisoners of war in Kursk[/caption]
Ian WhittakerA captured Russian truck[/caption]
22nd Separate Mechanised Assault BrigadeA Ukrainian tank moving through the area[/caption]
22nd Separate Mechanised Assault BrigadeThe captured POWs watched over by Ukrainian soldeirs[/caption]
22nd Separate Mechanised Assault BrigadeThe captured troops are being transferred to Ukraine[/caption]
22nd Separate Mechanised Assault BrigadeA soldier puts a Ukrainian flag above the bunker[/caption]
“They were afraid.
“When soldiers can see a tank gun pointing at them, they can’t even imagine fighting it.”
Sgt Maksim, 35, worked as chef on a British oil tanker before signing up to defend his homeland when Vladimir Putin invaded two and a half years ago.
He said terrified Russian soldiers raised their guns above their heads in a symbolic act of submission as the tank bore down on their position.
He added: “They held up their weapons up to show they surrender then we pointed our guns upwards to show that we accepted.
“Then I spoke with their commander and said we will guarantee their safety and that they won’t be killed.
“They will be transferred to Ukraine.”
Ukraine top commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said troops had captured 594 Russian prisoners of war in the first three weeks of the lightning blitz.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky called it “replenishing the exchange fund” to swap them for PoWs held in Russia.
Maksim’s troops from Ukraine’s 22nd Separate Mechanised Assault Brigade had been ordered to join the surprise attack just 24 hours before it started.
He said: “It was a huge surprise. We weren’t expecting this kind of operation at this time.
“Imagine how surprised they were.”
The assault team included a tank, armoured vehicles and dismounted infantry soldiers.
On their way to the Russian bunkers they were ambushed by troops in buildings by the road.
He said: “They were stupid. They were totally destroyed.
“Everyone who attacked us was killed.”
Asked how it felt to invade Russia, he said: “It was nothing special. It was just our job.
“The main thing I was thinking about was that our whole team should survive and achieve our mission successfully.”
He said he had special orders to take prisoners.
“If they were attacking us we wouldn’t be thinking about trying to save them. They would be destroyed.”
Ian WhittakerJunior Sergeant Maksim, right, showing The Sun’s Jerome Starkey a Russian soldier’s uniform patch[/caption]
Ian WhittakerThe uniform badge up close[/caption]
Ian WhittakerJunior Sergeant Maksim, who helped capture 28 Russian prisoners, standing next to a Russian truck[/caption]
He added: “The safety of my group is my first priority. If they start shooting we start shooting.”
It was more than just prisoners of war that they captured.
The Sun met Sgt Maksim in a secret forest location where his troops had repaired a Russian Ural 6 x 6 truck seized in the Kursk operation.
Its windscreen was smashed and the bodywork was peppered with shrapnel holes.
But Sgt Maksim, who runs the brigade’s mechanics, said: “It will be useful for us.”
It comes as Russians told The Sun they never thought about the bloodbath war raging on their doorstep until Kyiv’s lightning assault into Kursk brought the conflict crashing home.
The Sun stepped into sovereign Russia – despite Kremlin threats to kill or convict us – to speak to ordinary Russians left stranded by their soldiers’ humiliating retreat.
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