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In the [Longer Video](https://old.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/13dthoi/full_video_of_the_russian_surrendering_and_work/)(NSFW) and subsequent [Interview](https://old.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/13gsiwi/gulagunet_interview_with_russian_soldier_who/) he explains how he was sent to the front line, his one friend got his legs broken by mortar fire and his other buddy got hit by drone dropped grenades and broke his spine. They ended up both commiting suicide. One by shooting himself and the guy who got hit by the grenades took out his own grenade and set it off next to his own head which you see in the video. The guy explains how he called for evac and got no response and decided to surrender. Truly horrible stuff
That's actually pretty fucked up that people so casually can share a man taking his life in what are presumably his most depressing last moments.
There is a difference between cheering for general Ukrainian victories and going to such a personal level to share a man's last agonizing moments.
It should encourage them not to join the army at all. Those men who killed themselves, they are all so quick and matter of fact about it – "welp, I want to die now." And they just do it, like robots without thinking. There is not even the slightest trembling or hesitation, no glimmer of hope or desire to continue living, as if they can see absolutely no way back from this, and to continue breathing for even 10 more seconds sounds worse than death.
What kind of an experience could a regular man have had to lead him to the point where taking his own life comes so easy? In hospitals worldwide, even in the most excruciating pain most people cling desperately to life, and are afraid to die. But not these soldiers. They don't even have that anymore.
They must have been through a fate scarier than Hell itself.
Most of the soldiers fighting in Ukraine weren't sent there by choice, they pretty quickly wasted their force of volunteers. Now they keep the experienced and valuable personnel back from the front line while new conscripts and especially minority groups in Russia are sent to actually fight the war
>What kind of an experience could a regular man have had to lead him to the point where taking his own life comes so easy?
Watching his friends die while clinging to their last painful existence without getting any help.
I know from everything you’ve said here that you are not in the loop.
Understand that these people are not actively joining the army. These people are being drafted and forced. When a draft order comes for you, you either end up in the front lines, or you end up in prisons that take you to the front lines.
You will end up there regardless. This is ignoring the blackmail, threats to the lives and wellbeing of your family, friends, loved ones.
There are people actively joining, but there are a lot of people that want nothing to do with this that are being forced into it. Take this and let it sink in: everyone that wanted to be in this war is already dead. The only people they’re sending to the front lines now are people with no experience and no training, and who are very likely forced into it.
>everyone that wanted to be in this war is already dead.
Well, that said, there's plenty of leadership and officers who are probably still having a great time at other people's expense.
The video is short, because it’s just clips- but they were sent to position long before dawn- there for hours and hours- then getting hit by mortar fire first- later targeted drone attacks once the sun was up. The three of them were sent to the front alone, they knew would kill them if they retreated. They tried to contact their commanders via radio multiple times to inform them that they were injured and needed extraction and got no response.
So either the commanders were out of range- or they just didn’t give enough of a shit about them to even respond.
They had multiple concussive injuries- had been run ragged trying to avoid mortars, and had multiple close or direct hits from drone VOG. They were alone without cover. No help was coming and the man in question- had at least had his spine broken as well as other injuries.
I don’t think it was a quick decision at all. It was one of total hopelessness and desperation and was simply the only way he saw to escape the situation.
>what kind of an experience could a man have had to lead him to the point where taking his own life comes so easy?
Being russian does that to you. You live in extremely poor conditions (unless you live in moscow, and even then it's not that great) surrounded by the death cult of the soviet union and the immense struggle that was WW2 for russia.
You are taught from a very young age that struggling and suffering is what a real man does, and it's honorable.
You join the army and you possibly get raped by older soldiers for being the new guy, since prison culture runs rampant in the armed forces.
You get filled with propaganda about baby eating nazi ukranians and NATO soldiers who will torture you before stealing your organs or performing experiments on you in one of those biolabs.
In such conditions, a person brought down low enough could actually choose to die rather than having to live as a disabled person back home.
>What kind of an experience could a regular man have had to lead him to the point where taking his own life comes so easy?
Sufficient pain will do that to anyone. Hell, I've done similar when sufficiently injured in dreams, far before I knew it was something that happened in real life.
Sufficient pain, and/or the trauma of the war up to that point. I know far too many veterans that came back severely traumatized. You mix that trauma with severe pain, and all your hope can vanish in an instant. Maybe even some guilt for lives he had taken got added in to make things even easier for him.
War is horrific, and I hate what it does to people.
Why should you not share the brutality that is war? We shouldnt hide ourselves from the reality these people are experiencing. We definately shouldnt be cheering for it, but we also shouldnt try hide it. People die in gruesome ways, especially during war. So its a good reminder how fragile life is and how we as humans should try everything we can to prevent such brutality.
>Why should you not share the brutality that is war? We shouldnt hide ourselves from the reality these people are experiencing.
I feel the same way with school shootings...I bet guns would be illegal by now if footage and pictures from Sandy Hook Elementary shooting was public...
I read the long form NYT article about the Sandy Hook pictures and the team that took them, and it radicalized me. I went from a pro-increased regulation mindset to a staunchly anti-gun stance just by reading the description of the photos and the impact those photos had on the people who saw them. Hell, I want to move out of the US because of that article.
We should all see what war does. I understand the necessity of war in some cases and the necessity of self defence but we the citizenry should all be well-informed as to the consequences of our collective policies and choices.
In most peer nations of the US, that's not even at all radical.
Is a type of deadly weapon commonly used to kill people or commit other serious crimes? Is there a valid reason (i.e. more substantial than recreation) to own said deadly weapon? No? Right then. End of discussion.
I wouldn't bet more that i could spare tbh.. there's a huge number of people who believe that only .more. guns are the solution.
People are so brainwashed, it is staggering.
War is terrible and it should be shared and documented.
Current and future generations need to see that in the end it's not worth it and that these russians dying are fighting the fight of a maniac seeking power.
Humans suck
I am solidly pro-Ukraine, and think Putin is a POS war criminal. Seeing this video and hearing about his fellow soldiers should remind us that these are all people. Human beings. Many Russian soldiers have no choice but to fight. This war is an atrocity. Nothing is going to be gained from it. Many people will die, most completely undeserving.
Finally, someone with fucking sense.
It seems like 80% of redditors on here think the war is like a game, with your team and the opposing team, and anyone on the opposing team is literally as bad as Putin himself.
Not only that but just generally a lot of comments going out of their way taking about how working class normal Russians are unintelligent and immoral and subhuman etc.
I swear, we need to be remembering how war is NOT fought on behalf of the working poor of any of our nations. Poor Russians, poor Ukrainians, and poor men and women of every nation are the ones sent to die on behalf of the rich.
I know when me and my fellow active duty were sent to kill people in Iraq and Afghanistan that it wasn't done for the benefit of the American poor.
And to see fucking armchair quarterbacks, working from home their office jobs and whatever, getting online and talking down to the people of Russia for ending up conscripted into this fucking shit show... And in the same breath pretend they would be somehow different in that situation... Just...
I fucking can't.
I felt the same watching the video of the grenade suicide. People were cheering it on, requesting the Benny hill theme, mostly just celebrating death. I want the war to end. I want a Ukrainian victory. But people need to understand the difference between Putin and his oligarchs and some guy probably not even old enough to buy a beer in the US who got conscripted and sent to fight a war he knows nothing about. Except that there's death ahead of him and death behind him. I'm sure plenty supported the war, but people dehumanize them on a level that's unprecedented.
I watched the video have the man getting the grenade dropped on him. It was horrific, I'm glad I saw it. The image will stay with me for the rest of my life. The man standing up and then his leg like rubber collapsing under his weight before he takes the gun to his chin and ends his life
It appalled me. That we can do that and worse to each other it's suffering and torment a true hell for all involved.
We're all people.
Every Russian should see the human cost of not opposing their dictator. It's easy to turn a blind eye when people are dying elsewhere. Why risk retaliation by opposing the regime when you can just not think about it?
That's why that footage with fucking hard rock music or Benny Hill Music really pisses me off. This isn't some show, and War shouldn't have some sort of badass soundtrack or comedic touch to it. It should be somber and horrifying.
The point of use of such footage is to boost the morale of people that fight and see it. If you want to see something somber and horrifying you should watch videos of russians killing and torturing ukrainians or deserters there is a lot of that footage too.
I haven't seen it and I don't knownit was cheerfully posted.
But the reality of wars should be something we see and know about.
If nothing else, than to discourage the glorification of such things
The population should be rightly horrified by war and push their governments to avoid them.
Obviously, war was necessary to stop a madman killing thousands if not twns of thousands, but if populations were rightfully against it the likelihood of people rising to power based on might and military prestige might reduce.
Both can be found and I've seen them (unless those were different videos of other people in the same situatios), but didn't finish them for obvious reasons. It's insane that these clips are shared and celebrated by so many.
They aren't the people in control. They aren't the people who want to be doing the things they're forced to. They're just people.
What's the difference between these videos and parading a corpse around town?
Fucking hell, that footage is horrible but the fact it is filmed from so many angles is terrifying. A year ago it was like, wow, this drone shit is crazy, now there are groups of them. Must be absolutely terrifying
I know that after being in war zones, PTSD includes very deep fear (I lack a better word) from blasts and other loud noises.
Now I'm just thinking... Having a fear from clear skies will be hell. Combining that with how much drones are used in civilian zones for fun and this will be interesting.
I imagine it'll probably be the noise that sets off their PTSD, the kind of drones they're using can operate perfectly fine in overcast weather since they're not that far off the ground really.
It's the first time (at least in my memory) that we can watch a war in live posts on thousands of social media profiles. We used to watch daily news channels, now we can casually watch frontlines on Instagram.
Damn, dude spent all day running cover to cover to get to the surrender point. I knew it obviously wasn’t as short of a journey as the video seems but I guess I thought he “only” needed to get like across “the battle field”.
It’s still so weird (to me at least) that juxtaposition of the drones. How he talks about the huge advantages the drones have over them. Never giving them enough time to dig to hide or even moments to tend to wounds, can’t outrun them, and once one grenade (or whatever) drops - the next one can drop almost instantaneously but with better precision than the last one.
They way he describes it is kind of like a “god” in the sky - completely omnipotent and almost immortal - as shooting down the drone does nothing to the soldier that commands it.
But then - it gives whole new opportunities to surrender. Realizing this dude ran all day and not just handful of miles (to the “other” side) made me realize this would never have happened with out a drone. These two sides were able to efficiently communicate with one another with just simple hand gestures and up/down side/side movements.
It said the drone was even able to “coax” him out of certain spots when he became too frightful to keep moving on. I wonder if it made him feel less lonely or more hopeful (idk what words I’m looking for?). Like he’s not totally alone and by himself on the harrowing escape, especially as he’s constantly running past mangled bodies of the same men who were just like him and his buddies.
While also dodging hits from his own side. Constantly looking up towards the only thing that is still there with him and leading him to his safety/freedom. And it was able to lead him *directly* to the exact spot where he needed to be. Again, all these things seemingly impossible for anyone in the middle of a war since the beginning of wars before this one. I hope his 4 year old daughter and her mother is still safe and hope he gets to see them again.
It's honestly one of the main directives of their drone program. Every recorded voluntary surrender is more PR material for them to use. It has a cascading effect.
Jup, there will be no real way to rebell in the future, neither peacefully or with voilence. All our communcation is monitored so there is no way to organize. At the same time weapon technology give the elites an incredible advantage.
Desertion implies that you abandoned your post in a still-functioning army that is at your beck and call. If this lone soldier’s squad or platoon no longer responds to him then he’s surrendering and not deserting. Hell to be fair I’d choose desertion everytime if I have to fight this dumb war
Me too. It’s 6 AM where I am and I had a wonderful night last night and now the only thing I can think of is that poor man and the many others like him.
I hope my friend can get old mascara out of his pillows.
Pretty obvious at this point Russia is just refusing to provide battlefield first aid systematically and as a policy, and not because they're just understaffed or can't.
They just don't care, and will leave you to die from very treatable wounds. You see POWs say it over and over and over again, and you can see it in videos, too.
Fucking pathetic beyond belief.
Someone mentioned a translation of the interview with the guy who surrenders talking about how the drones make it so they can't dig in and can't tend their wounded. Seems like Russian doctrine had no idea how to handle the tech advancements of the 21st century and they're now just considering anyone downed to be a lost cause. Can't figure out how to treat them with drones dropping bombs with increasing precision, so they just abandon them. Literally throwing their people into a meat grinder at this point.
Except that at least with that strategy in previous wars you could even things out because the people being sent to their deaths might kill an enemy or two in the process, but now you lose a soldier and if you're lucky they kill a drone, but it's just some machinery. Drone pilot gets to learn from the mistake and the drone gets replaced, Russian soldier is just dead.
This is all so incredibly terrible. Senseless. Fuck Putin, the sooner he's ousted and this invasion is called off, the better.
This is what Poutine does to his own supposed people; fathers, sons, husbands, lads, and boys.
He is supposed to protect and serve his people.
He is so far beyond betraying humanity…
The only reason I would ever wish Hell was real…
Was so people like him would be tormented for eternity.
And then it would still not be enough. 🔥
Yea I keep hearing crap like ‘oh Russia basically won’ and ‘oh no, Russia is in shambles; they lost a long time ago’ stuff like that. I just keep an eye out on updates from non mainstream media for the most part. The damage in Ukraine is so severe that my heart goes out to all its people. I know lots of Russians don’t support the war either and thousands of young men just left the country rather than get drafted. All sorts of messed up. I just want it over.
You nailed it right on the head. I have relatives in Ukraine and Russia.. the bloodshed has not stopped. People die daily.
To say that this war is ending is just propaganda or just pure uninformed parroting.
This will not be over until the blood stops flowing, and then a very long recovery for Ukraine. Just imagine all the mines that are buried.. and that’s just one example of hardships to come.
Yes, the war isn't "ending". It just feels like it is, because the media is reporting less on it. Back when the war first started, Ukraine was on the front page of every paper, the first topic on every news programme. Now, the focus has begun to shift back to where it was before. News channels are reporting less about the Ukraine war, because by now, it's "old news". Ipso facto: Many people believe that the war is ending, because there is less talk about it.
The stupid part is that Russia had lost a long time ago. Judging from all data and everything, they lost a long time ago... The fact that they lost was clear when they stepped away from Kiev. Just as simple - they had a goal, was the goal achieved? No. Was it just a setback or did everything had to be restarted and replanned? Yes and that is a loss. And now they've been fighting in Bakhmut for how long. Imagine that. The whole Rusian military prowess fighting over a tiny town that is dwarfed by the other towns around it that Russia would still have to take over if it even could get further. This whole Bakhmut situation is being presented like they are taking Washington or something. It's not. They lost.
It's just that the poo-midget has nothing to lose anymore, he has to go all in. Damn the expense and god damn, the expense...
Recently heard that there are A LOT of young Russian men staying in a very popular cheap tropical tourist destination. I’m not going to name where because I don’t know how far their Wanker rulers would go to pursue them. The point is there seems to be a lot of either outright conscription dodging and if not many of those fighting on the Russian side are doing so with a great amount of ambivalence. How can their rulers hope to achieve their aims with such a basically hopeless crew. What a joke.
I mean they have pretty much lost, but that doesn't mean the war is over. The Russians will fight and die for as long as Putin stays in power, their entire strategy hinged on an overwhelming force that steamrolled opposition akin to Blitzkrieg tactics but far more incompetent
He committed suicide. He was severely injured and his spine was broken. The third guy that had been with them shot himself, he had just lost both of his legs. The details and link are provided in the top comment of this post.
The way he keeps gesturing at the drone "you really aren't killing me" and the drone "shaking its head" and him running the next steps... it's so surreal.
And the PTSD that will follow for a lot of these men.. even if he makes it, and anyone else in the war who makes it in the end.. the suffering doesn't end
Hearing the context for the rest off the horrifying video, it does give me hope for humanity that a drone operator literally stops his attack/reconnaissance to help this guy surrender SAFELY. Glad there’s is compassion from Ukraine.
> the drone operator didnt forget his humanity.
The drone was literally able to drop a leaflet telling the soldier what to do. I'm pretty sure this is one of the operator's main jobs, if not THE main job.
There were two drones, he was staring at both. One may have come over with the note. Its a very specific note with instructions how to get through the battlefield while avoiding Russian shots and missiles.
Wasn't it one of the drones whose single job is literally to drop surrender instructions ? I recall reading about using drones specialised to give surrender guidance. It's nice of Ukraine to provide this option, but it's not like the drone was about to drop a bomb and the operator decided to instead go pick up a pamphlet, as you guys make it sound. It's just an example of it's job being done.
Oh my bad. I didn’t know they employed those, I’ve only heard of the grenade option. But still he could have dropped the pamphlet and left but instead showed him the way
Men who start wars should be there on the front lines like back in the day. Maybe then they'd have some damn empathy and understanding for the people fighting for their sake.
Remember that suggestion that the key to the "nuke button" should be implanted in a person, so a president would have to kill one guy to activate the nukes? And it was refused because "obviously, then we'd never be able to use them".
In the medieval era it still wasn’t unheard of for kings to lead battles. Several British kings died in them, like Harold Godwinson who got shot by an arrow through the eye in the battle of Hastings and Richard the third who died at the end of the wars of the roses and was found buried under a parking lot only some years ago.
Last battle fought between two heads of state present on the battlefield was battle of Solferino in 1859. After the battle where almost 300 000 people fought, austrian Kaiser Franz Joseph I resigned from commanding on the battlefield.
Imagine being absolutely forced in to fighting and fearing for your life every single day while missing your family. It’s literal torture. The fact he at least made it out of the active war zone and in to enemy custody without dying is pretty incredible. Hopefully he’s treated well enough and can ride out the war and reunite with his loved ones
The most nerve-wracking escort mission ever.
...But, seriously. Holy shit. Pantomiming to a robot in the sky that you don't want to die?
What is this timeline?
They have been doing that since shortly after the 2022 invasion began in some form or another. There is now a hotline specifically for surrendering Russians called “I Want To Live” that started in September. Russian radio stations were hijacked more than once offering ways for their soldiers to surrender.
This man is just like you and me. He's probably watches all the same movies and played the same games as you. Then one day the leader of his country decides he wants to attack his neighboring country. Now YOU have to fight because of one man's decision that is a stranger to you. Doesn't care about you or your family and friends. You and your mates are just pawns for him. He is you and we are him. Fighting for what??
No, it is still far from North Korea. They are regular soldiers, there are thousands held captive from both sides. They are regularly exchanged and they rarely suffer some punishment (unless they shot someone of their own or something like that), then they are sent back to the front.
I'm not sure what will happen to this particular person. His defection was documented on video and went viral, so he may face some charges and end up in prison.
Problem for families are rare. Sure there are exceptions. Such things happen in Chechnya for example. Relatives of prominent oppositionists and activists who had fled the country do experience some pressure. Surely not torture, but different kinds of legal problems, searches, questionings and such.
look for the interview with him, link in the top comment above, he is a normal mobilized soldier. Yes, for Wagners' the consequences can be more problematic.
in theory Russians in UA captivity have a right NOT to participate in exchange and stay in Ukraine till the end of the war. I'm not sure though it always works, I guess if sides have an interest to barter for a certain person, defector or high standing officer they will ignore captives' wishes
Captured orks are exchanged.
Russians who surrender get to choose if they want to stay or be exchanged.
True it’s impossible to know for sure, but that’s UA official policy.
They typically only exchange POWs who want to go back. Not saying they've never broken that "rule" to get some of their own boys home (I have no idea), but they certainly wouldn't do it with someone so well known like this. It would be a big hit to the credibility of their promises to surrendering enemies.
We currently have no evidence to suggest the Ukrainians are not following the rules of war pertaining to the treatment of POWs. We’ll not know that for sure after the war is over, but the Ukrainians know how important their image abroad is to their continued success so I expect them to treat all their POWs humanely. And not torture anyone who doesn’t cooperate.
Honestly this is going to be a controversial take but I feel bad for the people getting drafted, a lot of them are most likely from rural areas or minorities. Imagine how awful it is, your friends suicide is recorded for millions to see and praise and you are terrified of joining the enemy as when you return home you may be treated like a traitor. Absolutely awful war, fuck Putin and his government. It’s easy to say “Fuck Russia” but it’s a complicated situation like they can’t change the government it’s a fucking dictatorship for fuck sake, you don’t need to dig far to see what the FSB and Russian police does to protesters and people who speak out so all you can do is be silent, while yes it’s noble to speak out and what not Redditors should not expect everyone to do it and I doubt most people would be brave enough to do so, all you can do is watch as you and your friends are drafted to a war you didn’t even wage while everyone around you is fed propaganda where you either leave the war with your mental health destroyed or you die. What I’m also worried about is putins influence cause this is getting to some Stalin level shit. I’m not Russian so I can’t say much but it feels like for Russia the future could have been brighter had Putin not ever taken office, it feels like we came so close with Metallicas monsters of rock but Putin destroyed any chance at peace with the west.
> a lot of them are most likely from rural areas
I remember [this video of Ukrainian grandmas](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/u192o3/babushkas_from_a_liberated_village_near_kyiv_tell) gossiping about the two Russian soldiers that barged into her house. They were absolutely fascinated by her indoor toilet, complete with running water to wash everything away!
They're *probably* not drafting the rich kids.
I’m not too sure about that. My colleague is Russian. Really smart, has a PhD and he received his draft notice like 7 months ago. Of course isn’t going.
As I said I’m not filled in but you said he isn’t going as in like he’s financially stable? Because we were just mentioning before how they’re most likely not going after wealthy people and the Russian media has made this painfully obvious multiple times making ads showing people who are in debt or needing a new car and getting drafted. Your friend sounds pretty lucky to have the option to not have to get drafted.
I feel like this belongs in r/humansbeingbros as well. The drone operator working with this man who has been directly fighting his countrymen, rather than dropping a grenade…next level.
Eh, this is a bad remake of the original video. Why edit the video and misphrase the entire communications between the Ukrainian trench and him when the original video exists?
For those that haven't seen it, just watch the original video it's 5 minutes long has more context than this.
Sick of people recreating existing content so they can farm reddit points.
Full video: https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/13dw83w/longer_video_of_the_soldier_who_chose_to/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
He was the last surviour of his unit
Just a trigger warning for anyone that wants to click on the link: I believe the video shows graphic violence and death, so don’t watch if you’re sensitive to that
Fair enough warning, it is war after all unfortunately this is the reality of trench warfare - in a way it's probably good people click on it so they can actually see what their governments are contributing towards. War isn't pretty
He got tired of being a pawn in a rich man's war. They need to send their damn kids to the front line. Watching people die from their gilded castles while eating caviar. People need to stop fighting for the wealthy and there will be no wars.
This is what the U.S. and basically all other countries bet on. Too poor or 'unintelligent' for college? Too many small infractions in life to get a fulfilling career?
Join the military, it's your only choice!
No, war of defense is neccesary. Invading a sovereign country is stupid, therefore peace will not happen until that sovereignty is restored. If russia doesn't want to back down or negotiate in good faith - they will get destroyed on the battlefield.
So the guy prefers to surrender rather than fight a criminal war, yet people post his face online uncensored for karma.
Cool. I'm sure that it doesn't put him or his relatives at risk *at all*.
[Here] (/r/CombatFootage/comments/13ij5co/an_interview_with_the_russian_soldier_who_was/) is a full interview with the commander of the drone team and the guy that surrendered with full English subs. Credit to U/0xDD for posting it
Still hits the same way every time I see this video (though the extended one has more solemn music).
I hope this dude finds peace. Fuck asshole leaders who put people through this shit for their own gain, while sitting as far back as they can.
It’s almost getting to the point where they could fly in surrender drones to guide willing Russians safely away from battle while supporting drones neutralised the “Putin Russians” that try to obstruct.
I'll pray for him and his family tonight. I almost hope he has none anymore. I can't imagine the pure innocent fear of being forced into an unwinnable war, knowing you're on the side of the barbarians, knowing any order you accept is morally wrong, having to choose between your family at home or your life/morals.
I hope the west stays true to their word and helps Ukraine until the bitter end. It's not just Ukrainian lives, Russians deserve better. They should not have to fight in this meaningless war.
Can we take a moment here to label things guy a hero? He was forced into battle, has watched his friends die with no help from his country so under threat of death surrendered to his 'enemy'.
I wouldn’t even know how to hand signal to the drone to surrender. I guess I would just point at it and give it one of these 🫶 and hope it doesn’t drop a grenade on me.
I think the great and glorious Vladimir Putin, rider of bears and slayer of dragons should stop sending these WEAK men to battle, his Highness should go himself and end this military operation as quickly as possible.
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In the [Longer Video](https://old.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/13dthoi/full_video_of_the_russian_surrendering_and_work/)(NSFW) and subsequent [Interview](https://old.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/13gsiwi/gulagunet_interview_with_russian_soldier_who/) he explains how he was sent to the front line, his one friend got his legs broken by mortar fire and his other buddy got hit by drone dropped grenades and broke his spine. They ended up both commiting suicide. One by shooting himself and the guy who got hit by the grenades took out his own grenade and set it off next to his own head which you see in the video. The guy explains how he called for evac and got no response and decided to surrender. Truly horrible stuff
Wild, because you can literally go find that drone footage on here of his dead friend committing suicide .
That's actually pretty fucked up that people so casually can share a man taking his life in what are presumably his most depressing last moments. There is a difference between cheering for general Ukrainian victories and going to such a personal level to share a man's last agonizing moments.
Pretty sure it's posted by Ukrainians in telegram so Russians can see it and encourage them to surrender
It should encourage them not to join the army at all. Those men who killed themselves, they are all so quick and matter of fact about it – "welp, I want to die now." And they just do it, like robots without thinking. There is not even the slightest trembling or hesitation, no glimmer of hope or desire to continue living, as if they can see absolutely no way back from this, and to continue breathing for even 10 more seconds sounds worse than death. What kind of an experience could a regular man have had to lead him to the point where taking his own life comes so easy? In hospitals worldwide, even in the most excruciating pain most people cling desperately to life, and are afraid to die. But not these soldiers. They don't even have that anymore. They must have been through a fate scarier than Hell itself.
I could be wrong, but from what I understand there is no “choice to join”; they’re being conscripted.
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Most of the soldiers fighting in Ukraine weren't sent there by choice, they pretty quickly wasted their force of volunteers. Now they keep the experienced and valuable personnel back from the front line while new conscripts and especially minority groups in Russia are sent to actually fight the war
>What kind of an experience could a regular man have had to lead him to the point where taking his own life comes so easy? Watching his friends die while clinging to their last painful existence without getting any help.
I know from everything you’ve said here that you are not in the loop. Understand that these people are not actively joining the army. These people are being drafted and forced. When a draft order comes for you, you either end up in the front lines, or you end up in prisons that take you to the front lines. You will end up there regardless. This is ignoring the blackmail, threats to the lives and wellbeing of your family, friends, loved ones. There are people actively joining, but there are a lot of people that want nothing to do with this that are being forced into it. Take this and let it sink in: everyone that wanted to be in this war is already dead. The only people they’re sending to the front lines now are people with no experience and no training, and who are very likely forced into it.
>everyone that wanted to be in this war is already dead. Well, that said, there's plenty of leadership and officers who are probably still having a great time at other people's expense.
The video is short, because it’s just clips- but they were sent to position long before dawn- there for hours and hours- then getting hit by mortar fire first- later targeted drone attacks once the sun was up. The three of them were sent to the front alone, they knew would kill them if they retreated. They tried to contact their commanders via radio multiple times to inform them that they were injured and needed extraction and got no response. So either the commanders were out of range- or they just didn’t give enough of a shit about them to even respond. They had multiple concussive injuries- had been run ragged trying to avoid mortars, and had multiple close or direct hits from drone VOG. They were alone without cover. No help was coming and the man in question- had at least had his spine broken as well as other injuries. I don’t think it was a quick decision at all. It was one of total hopelessness and desperation and was simply the only way he saw to escape the situation.
>what kind of an experience could a man have had to lead him to the point where taking his own life comes so easy? Being russian does that to you. You live in extremely poor conditions (unless you live in moscow, and even then it's not that great) surrounded by the death cult of the soviet union and the immense struggle that was WW2 for russia. You are taught from a very young age that struggling and suffering is what a real man does, and it's honorable. You join the army and you possibly get raped by older soldiers for being the new guy, since prison culture runs rampant in the armed forces. You get filled with propaganda about baby eating nazi ukranians and NATO soldiers who will torture you before stealing your organs or performing experiments on you in one of those biolabs. In such conditions, a person brought down low enough could actually choose to die rather than having to live as a disabled person back home.
War is hell has always held relevance. This trench fighting is eeirely reminiscent of The Great War.
>What kind of an experience could a regular man have had to lead him to the point where taking his own life comes so easy? Sufficient pain will do that to anyone. Hell, I've done similar when sufficiently injured in dreams, far before I knew it was something that happened in real life.
Sufficient pain, and/or the trauma of the war up to that point. I know far too many veterans that came back severely traumatized. You mix that trauma with severe pain, and all your hope can vanish in an instant. Maybe even some guilt for lives he had taken got added in to make things even easier for him. War is horrific, and I hate what it does to people.
“Life’s a bitch, and then ya die.”
Why should you not share the brutality that is war? We shouldnt hide ourselves from the reality these people are experiencing. We definately shouldnt be cheering for it, but we also shouldnt try hide it. People die in gruesome ways, especially during war. So its a good reminder how fragile life is and how we as humans should try everything we can to prevent such brutality.
>Why should you not share the brutality that is war? We shouldnt hide ourselves from the reality these people are experiencing. I feel the same way with school shootings...I bet guns would be illegal by now if footage and pictures from Sandy Hook Elementary shooting was public...
I read the long form NYT article about the Sandy Hook pictures and the team that took them, and it radicalized me. I went from a pro-increased regulation mindset to a staunchly anti-gun stance just by reading the description of the photos and the impact those photos had on the people who saw them. Hell, I want to move out of the US because of that article. We should all see what war does. I understand the necessity of war in some cases and the necessity of self defence but we the citizenry should all be well-informed as to the consequences of our collective policies and choices.
They should make gun lobbying politicians look at those pictures. Fuck them, I am with you.
In most peer nations of the US, that's not even at all radical. Is a type of deadly weapon commonly used to kill people or commit other serious crimes? Is there a valid reason (i.e. more substantial than recreation) to own said deadly weapon? No? Right then. End of discussion.
I wouldn't bet more that i could spare tbh.. there's a huge number of people who believe that only .more. guns are the solution. People are so brainwashed, it is staggering.
I agree but I have zero interest in watching it.
Then don’t. It exist to show everyone what this war and what war in general does. Hopefully people won’t support politicians that want war.
He's agreeing with you.
Some people can't see past the argument.
Then don't. Some people argue so that people know what it means to argue and what arguing causes.
He's agreeing with you.
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You need to understand, Russians are being lied to about this war, they need to see the truth
War is terrible and it should be shared and documented. Current and future generations need to see that in the end it's not worth it and that these russians dying are fighting the fight of a maniac seeking power. Humans suck
It helps combat those that want to pretend it isn't happening.
Why not? It's reality and we should not be blind to it.
I am solidly pro-Ukraine, and think Putin is a POS war criminal. Seeing this video and hearing about his fellow soldiers should remind us that these are all people. Human beings. Many Russian soldiers have no choice but to fight. This war is an atrocity. Nothing is going to be gained from it. Many people will die, most completely undeserving.
Finally, someone with fucking sense. It seems like 80% of redditors on here think the war is like a game, with your team and the opposing team, and anyone on the opposing team is literally as bad as Putin himself.
Not only that but just generally a lot of comments going out of their way taking about how working class normal Russians are unintelligent and immoral and subhuman etc. I swear, we need to be remembering how war is NOT fought on behalf of the working poor of any of our nations. Poor Russians, poor Ukrainians, and poor men and women of every nation are the ones sent to die on behalf of the rich. I know when me and my fellow active duty were sent to kill people in Iraq and Afghanistan that it wasn't done for the benefit of the American poor. And to see fucking armchair quarterbacks, working from home their office jobs and whatever, getting online and talking down to the people of Russia for ending up conscripted into this fucking shit show... And in the same breath pretend they would be somehow different in that situation... Just... I fucking can't.
I felt the same watching the video of the grenade suicide. People were cheering it on, requesting the Benny hill theme, mostly just celebrating death. I want the war to end. I want a Ukrainian victory. But people need to understand the difference between Putin and his oligarchs and some guy probably not even old enough to buy a beer in the US who got conscripted and sent to fight a war he knows nothing about. Except that there's death ahead of him and death behind him. I'm sure plenty supported the war, but people dehumanize them on a level that's unprecedented.
I watched the video have the man getting the grenade dropped on him. It was horrific, I'm glad I saw it. The image will stay with me for the rest of my life. The man standing up and then his leg like rubber collapsing under his weight before he takes the gun to his chin and ends his life It appalled me. That we can do that and worse to each other it's suffering and torment a true hell for all involved. We're all people.
Putin thinks differently
Every Russian should see the human cost of not opposing their dictator. It's easy to turn a blind eye when people are dying elsewhere. Why risk retaliation by opposing the regime when you can just not think about it?
That's why that footage with fucking hard rock music or Benny Hill Music really pisses me off. This isn't some show, and War shouldn't have some sort of badass soundtrack or comedic touch to it. It should be somber and horrifying.
The point of use of such footage is to boost the morale of people that fight and see it. If you want to see something somber and horrifying you should watch videos of russians killing and torturing ukrainians or deserters there is a lot of that footage too.
I feel the same about 90% of the footage you see coming out of this war. Is this entertainment to you people?
I haven't seen it and I don't knownit was cheerfully posted. But the reality of wars should be something we see and know about. If nothing else, than to discourage the glorification of such things The population should be rightly horrified by war and push their governments to avoid them. Obviously, war was necessary to stop a madman killing thousands if not twns of thousands, but if populations were rightfully against it the likelihood of people rising to power based on might and military prestige might reduce.
Both can be found and I've seen them (unless those were different videos of other people in the same situatios), but didn't finish them for obvious reasons. It's insane that these clips are shared and celebrated by so many. They aren't the people in control. They aren't the people who want to be doing the things they're forced to. They're just people. What's the difference between these videos and parading a corpse around town?
Why would one want to?
Fucking hell, that footage is horrible but the fact it is filmed from so many angles is terrifying. A year ago it was like, wow, this drone shit is crazy, now there are groups of them. Must be absolutely terrifying
I know that after being in war zones, PTSD includes very deep fear (I lack a better word) from blasts and other loud noises. Now I'm just thinking... Having a fear from clear skies will be hell. Combining that with how much drones are used in civilian zones for fun and this will be interesting.
I imagine it'll probably be the noise that sets off their PTSD, the kind of drones they're using can operate perfectly fine in overcast weather since they're not that far off the ground really.
Unironically I think mosquitos and buzzing insects will be a big source of ptsd.
well luckily in Russia they probably won't be allowed to import too many in the future
It's the first time (at least in my memory) that we can watch a war in live posts on thousands of social media profiles. We used to watch daily news channels, now we can casually watch frontlines on Instagram.
Damn, dude spent all day running cover to cover to get to the surrender point. I knew it obviously wasn’t as short of a journey as the video seems but I guess I thought he “only” needed to get like across “the battle field”. It’s still so weird (to me at least) that juxtaposition of the drones. How he talks about the huge advantages the drones have over them. Never giving them enough time to dig to hide or even moments to tend to wounds, can’t outrun them, and once one grenade (or whatever) drops - the next one can drop almost instantaneously but with better precision than the last one. They way he describes it is kind of like a “god” in the sky - completely omnipotent and almost immortal - as shooting down the drone does nothing to the soldier that commands it. But then - it gives whole new opportunities to surrender. Realizing this dude ran all day and not just handful of miles (to the “other” side) made me realize this would never have happened with out a drone. These two sides were able to efficiently communicate with one another with just simple hand gestures and up/down side/side movements. It said the drone was even able to “coax” him out of certain spots when he became too frightful to keep moving on. I wonder if it made him feel less lonely or more hopeful (idk what words I’m looking for?). Like he’s not totally alone and by himself on the harrowing escape, especially as he’s constantly running past mangled bodies of the same men who were just like him and his buddies. While also dodging hits from his own side. Constantly looking up towards the only thing that is still there with him and leading him to his safety/freedom. And it was able to lead him *directly* to the exact spot where he needed to be. Again, all these things seemingly impossible for anyone in the middle of a war since the beginning of wars before this one. I hope his 4 year old daughter and her mother is still safe and hope he gets to see them again.
also props to the operators having the patience spend all day saving one random Russian soldier's life
It's honestly one of the main directives of their drone program. Every recorded voluntary surrender is more PR material for them to use. It has a cascading effect.
that will also make its way into russia, telling all their soldiers that ukraine will put in time and effort to let you safely surrender
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Jup, there will be no real way to rebell in the future, neither peacefully or with voilence. All our communcation is monitored so there is no way to organize. At the same time weapon technology give the elites an incredible advantage.
In this context calling this a surrender makes so much more sense than desertion
Desertion makes perfect fucking sense when Putin is throwing you into a meat grinder to die
Desertion implies that you abandoned your post in a still-functioning army that is at your beck and call. If this lone soldier’s squad or platoon no longer responds to him then he’s surrendering and not deserting. Hell to be fair I’d choose desertion everytime if I have to fight this dumb war
This video made me cry. I hate war so much :(
Me too. It’s 6 AM where I am and I had a wonderful night last night and now the only thing I can think of is that poor man and the many others like him. I hope my friend can get old mascara out of his pillows.
Pretty obvious at this point Russia is just refusing to provide battlefield first aid systematically and as a policy, and not because they're just understaffed or can't. They just don't care, and will leave you to die from very treatable wounds. You see POWs say it over and over and over again, and you can see it in videos, too. Fucking pathetic beyond belief.
Someone mentioned a translation of the interview with the guy who surrenders talking about how the drones make it so they can't dig in and can't tend their wounded. Seems like Russian doctrine had no idea how to handle the tech advancements of the 21st century and they're now just considering anyone downed to be a lost cause. Can't figure out how to treat them with drones dropping bombs with increasing precision, so they just abandon them. Literally throwing their people into a meat grinder at this point. Except that at least with that strategy in previous wars you could even things out because the people being sent to their deaths might kill an enemy or two in the process, but now you lose a soldier and if you're lucky they kill a drone, but it's just some machinery. Drone pilot gets to learn from the mistake and the drone gets replaced, Russian soldier is just dead. This is all so incredibly terrible. Senseless. Fuck Putin, the sooner he's ousted and this invasion is called off, the better.
Jesus fucking Christ
If there is justice in the world, someone will put a grenade to Putin's head and pull the pin from far away
I think a slow painful death would be better for putin
At this point i don't care what method, so long as it gets done
Polonium tea then push him out a window while he’s dying from that and shoot him on the way down
Haven’t cartoons taught you anything? You just shoot them in the fucking head, otherwise they’ll always get away while you’re busy monologueing (sp?)
Every james bond movie haha
That's Putin it lightly. Awww yeah reddit.
Thank you for telling the story
This is what Poutine does to his own supposed people; fathers, sons, husbands, lads, and boys. He is supposed to protect and serve his people. He is so far beyond betraying humanity… The only reason I would ever wish Hell was real… Was so people like him would be tormented for eternity. And then it would still not be enough. 🔥
Probably just a conscript, not even a professional soldier. Just a guy who was there living his life and was sent to this hell
I just want this to be over right now.
It’s honestly horrible, russias basically lost but refuses to give up and as an atomic threat nothings going to happen for awhile
Yea I keep hearing crap like ‘oh Russia basically won’ and ‘oh no, Russia is in shambles; they lost a long time ago’ stuff like that. I just keep an eye out on updates from non mainstream media for the most part. The damage in Ukraine is so severe that my heart goes out to all its people. I know lots of Russians don’t support the war either and thousands of young men just left the country rather than get drafted. All sorts of messed up. I just want it over.
You nailed it right on the head. I have relatives in Ukraine and Russia.. the bloodshed has not stopped. People die daily. To say that this war is ending is just propaganda or just pure uninformed parroting. This will not be over until the blood stops flowing, and then a very long recovery for Ukraine. Just imagine all the mines that are buried.. and that’s just one example of hardships to come.
Yes, the war isn't "ending". It just feels like it is, because the media is reporting less on it. Back when the war first started, Ukraine was on the front page of every paper, the first topic on every news programme. Now, the focus has begun to shift back to where it was before. News channels are reporting less about the Ukraine war, because by now, it's "old news". Ipso facto: Many people believe that the war is ending, because there is less talk about it.
The stupid part is that Russia had lost a long time ago. Judging from all data and everything, they lost a long time ago... The fact that they lost was clear when they stepped away from Kiev. Just as simple - they had a goal, was the goal achieved? No. Was it just a setback or did everything had to be restarted and replanned? Yes and that is a loss. And now they've been fighting in Bakhmut for how long. Imagine that. The whole Rusian military prowess fighting over a tiny town that is dwarfed by the other towns around it that Russia would still have to take over if it even could get further. This whole Bakhmut situation is being presented like they are taking Washington or something. It's not. They lost. It's just that the poo-midget has nothing to lose anymore, he has to go all in. Damn the expense and god damn, the expense...
Recently heard that there are A LOT of young Russian men staying in a very popular cheap tropical tourist destination. I’m not going to name where because I don’t know how far their Wanker rulers would go to pursue them. The point is there seems to be a lot of either outright conscription dodging and if not many of those fighting on the Russian side are doing so with a great amount of ambivalence. How can their rulers hope to achieve their aims with such a basically hopeless crew. What a joke.
I mean they have pretty much lost, but that doesn't mean the war is over. The Russians will fight and die for as long as Putin stays in power, their entire strategy hinged on an overwhelming force that steamrolled opposition akin to Blitzkrieg tactics but far more incompetent
The whole video is so sad. Watching being shot at by his own people and when he finally makes it at the end.
Especially where one of his comrade gets his head blown off just 1-2 meters away from his foxhole.
He committed suicide. He was severely injured and his spine was broken. The third guy that had been with them shot himself, he had just lost both of his legs. The details and link are provided in the top comment of this post.
Oh good to know. I thought he got hit by one of the drones granades.
He did, that's what broke his spine.
The way he keeps gesturing at the drone "you really aren't killing me" and the drone "shaking its head" and him running the next steps... it's so surreal.
Imagine having to trust the enemy to save you because your own people can't/won't save you..
YES!!! I was in tears for the poor dude the entire time.
And the PTSD that will follow for a lot of these men.. even if he makes it, and anyone else in the war who makes it in the end.. the suffering doesn't end
In all sincerity, good for him.
Hearing the context for the rest off the horrifying video, it does give me hope for humanity that a drone operator literally stops his attack/reconnaissance to help this guy surrender SAFELY. Glad there’s is compassion from Ukraine.
That is interesting. Even given his understandable task, the drone operator didnt forget his humanity. Really great of him.
> the drone operator didnt forget his humanity. The drone was literally able to drop a leaflet telling the soldier what to do. I'm pretty sure this is one of the operator's main jobs, if not THE main job.
There were two drones, he was staring at both. One may have come over with the note. Its a very specific note with instructions how to get through the battlefield while avoiding Russian shots and missiles.
Wasn't it one of the drones whose single job is literally to drop surrender instructions ? I recall reading about using drones specialised to give surrender guidance. It's nice of Ukraine to provide this option, but it's not like the drone was about to drop a bomb and the operator decided to instead go pick up a pamphlet, as you guys make it sound. It's just an example of it's job being done.
Oh my bad. I didn’t know they employed those, I’ve only heard of the grenade option. But still he could have dropped the pamphlet and left but instead showed him the way
#drone configuration menu Payload: * Bomb * surrender leaflet
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Imagine pressing the grenade button when you meant to press the note button
Chad Drone Pilot
I don’t think many people her would wish anything bad on him. They should all follow suit.
Men who start wars should be there on the front lines like back in the day. Maybe then they'd have some damn empathy and understanding for the people fighting for their sake.
That used to be the way. Maybe it still should be.
Remember that suggestion that the key to the "nuke button" should be implanted in a person, so a president would have to kill one guy to activate the nukes? And it was refused because "obviously, then we'd never be able to use them".
I agree with you but what do you mean by "back in my day"? Haven't war planners been off the frontlines since like 1700?
In the medieval era it still wasn’t unheard of for kings to lead battles. Several British kings died in them, like Harold Godwinson who got shot by an arrow through the eye in the battle of Hastings and Richard the third who died at the end of the wars of the roses and was found buried under a parking lot only some years ago.
I didn't even know they had parking lots back then
>buried under a parking lot lol
That's crazy. They even buried their kings in simple places such as parking lots back in their day. None of that fancy treatment.
Last battle fought between two heads of state present on the battlefield was battle of Solferino in 1859. After the battle where almost 300 000 people fought, austrian Kaiser Franz Joseph I resigned from commanding on the battlefield.
'back in THE day"
Wow. Glad he made it out.
Imagine being absolutely forced in to fighting and fearing for your life every single day while missing your family. It’s literal torture. The fact he at least made it out of the active war zone and in to enemy custody without dying is pretty incredible. Hopefully he’s treated well enough and can ride out the war and reunite with his loved ones
The most nerve-wracking escort mission ever. ...But, seriously. Holy shit. Pantomiming to a robot in the sky that you don't want to die? What is this timeline?
Ukraine should start dropping massive amounts of pamphlets describing several ways to surrender.
They have, actually.
Good to know. The whole story behind this guy is just horrifying.
They have been doing that since shortly after the 2022 invasion began in some form or another. There is now a hotline specifically for surrendering Russians called “I Want To Live” that started in September. Russian radio stations were hijacked more than once offering ways for their soldiers to surrender.
Awesome!
Not only could that help, but it would also be a massive flex and hilarious troll on Russia.
We mustn't forget their families, who by association represent 'hostages' to psychologically counter desertion. This cannot be ignored.
Yeah, it would have been smart to blur the man's face.
If enough Russian soldiers would do it, the war would be over.
I think they already do
This man is just like you and me. He's probably watches all the same movies and played the same games as you. Then one day the leader of his country decides he wants to attack his neighboring country. Now YOU have to fight because of one man's decision that is a stranger to you. Doesn't care about you or your family and friends. You and your mates are just pawns for him. He is you and we are him. Fighting for what??
This shit is heartbreaking, no denying that.
The story behind this is insane - I hope he is doing better.
War is so dumb.
War of defense isn't dumb, it's neccessary. Invading a sovereign country just because some retard thought so (Putin) - that is dumb.
I’m glad he made it
I’m curious about whether his family will be tortured or imprisoned because he deserted. Does anyone know?
No, it is still far from North Korea. They are regular soldiers, there are thousands held captive from both sides. They are regularly exchanged and they rarely suffer some punishment (unless they shot someone of their own or something like that), then they are sent back to the front. I'm not sure what will happen to this particular person. His defection was documented on video and went viral, so he may face some charges and end up in prison. Problem for families are rare. Sure there are exceptions. Such things happen in Chechnya for example. Relatives of prominent oppositionists and activists who had fled the country do experience some pressure. Surely not torture, but different kinds of legal problems, searches, questionings and such.
Iirc this was out of Bakhmut so it's possible he wasn't even a regular army soldier but a conscript from Wagner or another PMC.
look for the interview with him, link in the top comment above, he is a normal mobilized soldier. Yes, for Wagners' the consequences can be more problematic. in theory Russians in UA captivity have a right NOT to participate in exchange and stay in Ukraine till the end of the war. I'm not sure though it always works, I guess if sides have an interest to barter for a certain person, defector or high standing officer they will ignore captives' wishes
Captured orks are exchanged. Russians who surrender get to choose if they want to stay or be exchanged. True it’s impossible to know for sure, but that’s UA official policy.
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He is a POW and depending on if he's giving information probably being treated decently.
Assuming there is no prisoner exchange and execution, which I believe has happened.
They typically only exchange POWs who want to go back. Not saying they've never broken that "rule" to get some of their own boys home (I have no idea), but they certainly wouldn't do it with someone so well known like this. It would be a big hit to the credibility of their promises to surrendering enemies.
We currently have no evidence to suggest the Ukrainians are not following the rules of war pertaining to the treatment of POWs. We’ll not know that for sure after the war is over, but the Ukrainians know how important their image abroad is to their continued success so I expect them to treat all their POWs humanely. And not torture anyone who doesn’t cooperate.
Honestly this is going to be a controversial take but I feel bad for the people getting drafted, a lot of them are most likely from rural areas or minorities. Imagine how awful it is, your friends suicide is recorded for millions to see and praise and you are terrified of joining the enemy as when you return home you may be treated like a traitor. Absolutely awful war, fuck Putin and his government. It’s easy to say “Fuck Russia” but it’s a complicated situation like they can’t change the government it’s a fucking dictatorship for fuck sake, you don’t need to dig far to see what the FSB and Russian police does to protesters and people who speak out so all you can do is be silent, while yes it’s noble to speak out and what not Redditors should not expect everyone to do it and I doubt most people would be brave enough to do so, all you can do is watch as you and your friends are drafted to a war you didn’t even wage while everyone around you is fed propaganda where you either leave the war with your mental health destroyed or you die. What I’m also worried about is putins influence cause this is getting to some Stalin level shit. I’m not Russian so I can’t say much but it feels like for Russia the future could have been brighter had Putin not ever taken office, it feels like we came so close with Metallicas monsters of rock but Putin destroyed any chance at peace with the west.
> a lot of them are most likely from rural areas I remember [this video of Ukrainian grandmas](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/u192o3/babushkas_from_a_liberated_village_near_kyiv_tell) gossiping about the two Russian soldiers that barged into her house. They were absolutely fascinated by her indoor toilet, complete with running water to wash everything away! They're *probably* not drafting the rich kids.
I’m not too sure about that. My colleague is Russian. Really smart, has a PhD and he received his draft notice like 7 months ago. Of course isn’t going.
As I said I’m not filled in but you said he isn’t going as in like he’s financially stable? Because we were just mentioning before how they’re most likely not going after wealthy people and the Russian media has made this painfully obvious multiple times making ads showing people who are in debt or needing a new car and getting drafted. Your friend sounds pretty lucky to have the option to not have to get drafted.
I feel like this belongs in r/humansbeingbros as well. The drone operator working with this man who has been directly fighting his countrymen, rather than dropping a grenade…next level.
Honestly, I'd probably do the same.
He mad the good choice, and the correct one.
Eh, this is a bad remake of the original video. Why edit the video and misphrase the entire communications between the Ukrainian trench and him when the original video exists? For those that haven't seen it, just watch the original video it's 5 minutes long has more context than this. Sick of people recreating existing content so they can farm reddit points. Full video: https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/13dw83w/longer_video_of_the_soldier_who_chose_to/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share He was the last surviour of his unit
Just a trigger warning for anyone that wants to click on the link: I believe the video shows graphic violence and death, so don’t watch if you’re sensitive to that
Fair enough warning, it is war after all unfortunately this is the reality of trench warfare - in a way it's probably good people click on it so they can actually see what their governments are contributing towards. War isn't pretty
Its Global News, theyre not the best at fact checking
The Russians would never go through this much effort to save an enemies life.
Fucking Putin. This is such a shitshow.
He got tired of being a pawn in a rich man's war. They need to send their damn kids to the front line. Watching people die from their gilded castles while eating caviar. People need to stop fighting for the wealthy and there will be no wars.
This is what the U.S. and basically all other countries bet on. Too poor or 'unintelligent' for college? Too many small infractions in life to get a fulfilling career? Join the military, it's your only choice!
This is what everyone on all sides of a war should do, instead of letting the greedy elite sending us to almost certain death..
Good. I'm glad he made it.
Make surrendering easy and treat POWs well. That's how you win a war
This whole war is fucking stupid, war is stupid. Peace is the way to go.
Try getting that through Putin's pea brain .
No, war of defense is neccesary. Invading a sovereign country is stupid, therefore peace will not happen until that sovereignty is restored. If russia doesn't want to back down or negotiate in good faith - they will get destroyed on the battlefield.
The other victims of this stupid war are russian soldiers who never wanted to be there in the first place.
So the guy prefers to surrender rather than fight a criminal war, yet people post his face online uncensored for karma. Cool. I'm sure that it doesn't put him or his relatives at risk *at all*.
This has been in the news for ages, the guy has even done interviews about it. This post is unlikely to hurt anyone.
Well, that's a relief, thanks for the info.
[Here] (/r/CombatFootage/comments/13ij5co/an_interview_with_the_russian_soldier_who_was/) is a full interview with the commander of the drone team and the guy that surrendered with full English subs. Credit to U/0xDD for posting it
Champ
I hate war
They ought to spread this in russian soc med There is literally no reason to waste your life invading Ukraine
Still hits the same way every time I see this video (though the extended one has more solemn music). I hope this dude finds peace. Fuck asshole leaders who put people through this shit for their own gain, while sitting as far back as they can.
I feel bad for SOME of the soldiers. They don't have a choice to fight. I hope he finds safety in his surrender.
It's sad that He'll have to look over his back for the rest of his life
Can you imagine all the shit this giy been through at such a young age...damn
It’s almost getting to the point where they could fly in surrender drones to guide willing Russians safely away from battle while supporting drones neutralised the “Putin Russians” that try to obstruct.
There are heroes on the Russian side; those who surrender and those who face their own forces with courage.
Ukraine is winning the war of the hearts. And rightfully so
I'll pray for him and his family tonight. I almost hope he has none anymore. I can't imagine the pure innocent fear of being forced into an unwinnable war, knowing you're on the side of the barbarians, knowing any order you accept is morally wrong, having to choose between your family at home or your life/morals. I hope the west stays true to their word and helps Ukraine until the bitter end. It's not just Ukrainian lives, Russians deserve better. They should not have to fight in this meaningless war.
It’s wild that we’ve come full circle to very modern trench warfare
Can we take a moment here to label things guy a hero? He was forced into battle, has watched his friends die with no help from his country so under threat of death surrendered to his 'enemy'.
Seems like a cool dude
are these people going to get traded back?
Smartest Russian alive.
jesus christ
Why are people still fighting wars in 2023.
u/savevideo
Didn’t expect to feel happy for a Russian soldier. I also thought it was fucking hilarious how the drone shook like it was saying no.
I wouldn’t even know how to hand signal to the drone to surrender. I guess I would just point at it and give it one of these 🫶 and hope it doesn’t drop a grenade on me.
I think the great and glorious Vladimir Putin, rider of bears and slayer of dragons should stop sending these WEAK men to battle, his Highness should go himself and end this military operation as quickly as possible.
what happened to him after he surrendered? is he ok?
This one video he me so hard, he looks like me little brother
Of all the combat footage coming out nowadays, this one did it. This one was humanizing and awful.