Captured Russian Troops Call Home

Captured Russian Troops Call Home While Filmed by Ukrainian Officials, Raising Geneva Convention Questions
Richard Sisk, Military.com
Tue, March 1, 2022, 12:24 PM MST

Several demoralized Russian troops captured in Ukraine were allowed to call home over the weekend to tell their families they were safe and profess confusion about why they were sent to war.

"Mama and Papa, I didn't want to come here. They forced me to," a Russian soldier said in videos purporting to show the phone calls that were taken by Ukraine's Interior Ministry and posted on YouTube. Videos and stills of captured or surrendered Russian troops also were posted on the Ukrainian Security Service's Facebook page.

The posting of the videos showing captured Russian troops raised questions about whether Ukraine had violated Article 13 of the Geneva Conventions, calling for the protection of prisoners of war "against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity."

The captured Russian soldiers, and any Ukrainians captured by the Russians, were entitled to humane treatment and protections under the law of war and the Geneva Conventions, said Gary Solis, a Vietnam veteran, retired Marine judge advocate general and author of the book, "The Law of Armed Conflict."

"It's a violation" of Geneva to post the videos, but not what would be considered a "grave breach" to be taken up by a war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Solis said.

"Anybody who is captured is a prisoner of war" and must be shielded from abuse and provided medical treatment as a lawful combatant, he added. "Clearly, the Russians who were captured were wearing uniforms."

He compared what the Ukrainians had done more to a misdemeanor than a felony, and also noted that there was a positive humanitarian aspect of the videos in showing "proof of life" to the families of the captured troops.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has made no mention of Ukrainian actions since Russia invaded last week, but on Monday, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a press release that he planned to begin an investigation "as rapidly as possible" into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russia tied to the bombing and shelling of civilian buildings.

In English subtitles added to one video by Ukrainian authorities, another Russian soldier tried to explain his plight to his mother: "Hello, hello, Mom? Hi, did you recognize me? I am in the territory of Ukraine. I've been taken captive but I'm alright."

In addition to the videos of soldiers calling home, the Interior Ministry showed off-camera interrogators questioning the troops who mostly appeared to be unharmed and speaking freely, but some had cuts and bruises on their faces.

One soldier appeared under sheets in what was either an aid station or hospital bed and said "I got here not knowing" what the mission was, according to the Ukrainian translation. "I didn't imagine what will happen here. There was no need to come here."

He said "our convoy got under fire" and now "my legs are broken." He had a wife and two children back in Russia, the soldier said, and "I pray to God to recover."

A common theme among the soldiers was that they were conscripts, with little concept of why they were sent into Ukraine and-or what their mission was once they crossed the border.

One Russian soldier said: "We came here under the pretext of doing military exercises. We were not planning to make war on Ukraine. I am alive and healthy as a captive, and my message is to stop the war in Ukraine. It is nonsense; people are dying."

Ukrainian officials gave no overall figure for how many Russian troops may have been captured, but Ukraine's Interior Ministry reported Tuesday that 5,710 Russian troops had been killed since the Feb. 24 invasion began.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov declined Sunday to give numbers on how many Russian troops had been killed or captured but said more Ukrainians than Russians had been killed, Russia's Tass news agency reported.

"There are dead and wounded among our comrades," Konashenkov said without giving any figures, but added that Ukraine's losses were "many times" more than Russia's -- again without giving specifics.

Although they may not be wearing uniforms, the civilians would be considered lawful combatants so long as they were wearing a sign or symbol of their allegiance, and simply carrying a weapon would qualify as such a sign, Solis said.

U.S. Sees Evidence of Morale Problems Among Russian Troops in Ukraine
Elliott Davis Jr. | US News Report | 1 hr ago

The U.S. is seeing evidence of “fairly slow and stodgy progress” and morale issues among Russian forces on the ground in Ukraine – and even some cases of troops surrendering “sometimes without a fight.”

A senior defense official, speaking to reporters Tuesday on background, noted that the Russian forces are relying mostly on conscripts – or draftees – and not all volunteers and are “none too pleased about the logistics and sustainment challenges they've had.” There is even evidence that convoys, in addition to running out of gas, are now also running out of food, the official added.

“I think the Russians have been surprised by the resistance that they have faced,” the official said. “I think the Russians have been surprised by some of the morale problems that they're experiencing … Was it failure of planning and pre-positioning or has it been a failure in the execution? There could be lots of reasons for this, not to mention the resistance.”

The official said a significant number of Russian forces could be characterized as “very young men” and that “not all of them are apparently fully trained and prepared or even aware that they were going to be sent into a combat operation.” That wasn’t necessarily a surprise to U.S. military analysts, the official noted, given the high percentage of draftees in the Russian army.

The intelligence seems consistent with information released by Ukrainian security officials in recent days about the Russian forces.

Asked about reports that the Russian troops were deliberately punching holes in their own gas tanks in order to run out of fuel, the U.S. defense official acknowledged them but declined to confirm them.

'These tensions are going to linger even if we don't see armed conflict,' says Eurasia Group's Brideau

“We can't confirm it definitively,” the official said. “We've seen those reports. No reason to doubt those reports, but can't independently verify them.”

The official characterized Russian behavior in the course of the invasion as “risk averse” toward engaging Russian troops but would not speculate on whether that aversion appeared to be emanating from Moscow or from field commanders.

Russia has now committed more than 80% of its “pre-staged combat power” to Ukraine, according to the official. Attacks, however, intensified on the sixth day of the invasion with a new push against civilian areas and government buildings thought to be aimed at demoralizing the Ukrainian resistance. One shelling targeted a government building in the central square of Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv and prompted backlash that includes accusations of terrorism.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has sent an ominous message to residents of the capital city of Kyiv, urging them to “leave their homes,” according to a translated statement published by Tass, the Russian state news service.

The Russian troops – part of a reportedly 40-mile convoy – are still advancing on the city, but there was “no appreciable movement” so far on Tuesday, according to the defense official. And its pause – leaving the massive column of Russian soldiers and equipment vulnerable to attack – seems to be a subject of great speculation.

“One reason why things appear to be stalled north of Kyiv is that the Russians themselves are regrouping and rethinking and trying to adjust to the challenges that they've had,” the official added.