Captured AFU serviceman tells of first days of Russian offensive near Kharkov

11.06.24 - Kirill Dotsenko was sent to the 415th Battalion after the mobilisation. The unit was formed from residents of Zaporozhye in early 2023 and carried out service in the rear areas of the region – on checkpoints. But it became a surprise for Kirill and his comrades when instructors said that the servicemen could form assault units.
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'In the second half of 2023, his battalion was assigned to the 125th Brigade. 'We were assigned to the 125th Brigade. It is the Lvov Territorial Defence Brigade. It has never been on specific combat actions.'
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The captured serviceman said that the objective of the 125th Brigade in Kharkov direction was to hold the defence area between the border settlements of Krasnoye–Glubokoye–Strelechye. In case of Russian offensive, the brigade was to defend the position before the reserves approached. After that, the servicemen were expected to retreat to the second line of defence and to regroup. However, this did not happen during the Russian offensive – no one took the military personnel to the rear positions – people were simply abandoned.
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'In the evening, two Bradley vehicles with machine guns came to us. I guess it was Kraken. The command redeployed their own people. The officers took their own people and moved away. There were border guards with us.'
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Kirill Dotsenko was taken prisoner after being wounded on the position. He lost consciousness and spent about 5 days in one of the pits that had previously been used for dump food waste. After several days in a pit, he managed to get out and was detected by soldiers of the Sever Group of Forces.
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The prisoner noted the absence of heavy armoured vehicles and weapons in his battalion. In addition to two large-calibre machine guns, there were only small arms, hand grenades, and infantry launchers at the AFU positions near Strelechye. Source
🔹 Russian Defence Ministry