A man from occupied Crimea fought for Russia for three days and surrendered

<span><span><span><span><span><span>A man from occupied Crimea, who fought on the side of the Russian army, found himself in Ukrainian captivity just three days later. He now believes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces saved his life. </span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>Journalist Pavlo Shamshin reported this in an interview on Army FM.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>According to the 40-year-old prisoner, Maksym Basalaev, he joined the Russian army to financially support his large family. He had hoped to receive 2.2 million rubles from the Russian authorities. </span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>After a brief training period, he was sent to a motorized assault unit and then forward into a frontal assault in the Bakhmut area. He managed to reach the so-called “dachas,” where he came under attack from Ukrainian drones and suffered a concussion. In that condition, he walked straight into the position of soldiers from the 36th Marine Brigade, where he was taken prisoner.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span> The traitor was born in Zaporizhzhia. As a child, he moved to Crimea with his parents. He attended a Ukrainian school, and after finishing ninth grade, he worked at various temporary jobs. Following the occupation of the peninsula, the man obtained a Russian passport. </span></span></span></span></span></span>

It is known that in occupied Crimea, authorities are officially demanding lists of students scheduled for expulsion, as well as of prospective students who failed this year’s entrance exams. It is likely that authorities plan to target these groups of young people with recruitment campaigns to enlist in the Russian army on a contract basis.

Analysts at the Center for the Study of the Occupation have noted increasing difficulties in Russia infillingcontract armypositionsahead of the start of fall. In more than 50% of the federal subjects, recruitment quotas are not being met, with an average shortfall of 5–7% and a maximum shortfall of 10–15%. 

Юлія Калабайда