Video: The occupiers ate tree bark and drank urine while waiting to be taken prisoner

During the successful “Vivaldi” offensive operation, soldiers of the Third Army Corps took approximately 250 Russian Federation military personnel prisoner. 

According to the corps, Russian units found themselves surrounded, but their command did not allow them to take advantage of the opportunity to escape. According to the prisoners themselves, in order to survive under extreme conditions and wait to surrender to Ukrainian defenders, they were forced to eat tree bark and nettles and drink their own urine.

A video documenting this was posted on the military unit’s official social media accounts.

Source: Third Army Corps.

As a reminder, during Operation “Vivaldi,” soldiers of the Third Army Corps created 400 meters of minefields in two nights using ground-based robotic systems. The corps states that remote mining allows for faster blocking of Russian troop routes and eliminates the need to directly involve personnel in dangerous work.

The Defense Forces’ “Vivaldi” offensive operation is fueling debate among Russian so-called “military correspondents” regarding issues with the reliability of reports within the Russian army. According to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), false reports about the situation on the front lines may impair the Russian command’s situational awareness and create conditions for the advance of Ukrainian forces in the Lyman direction.

The Third Army Corps completed the third phase of Operation “Vivaldi,” liberating Nove, Ridkodub, and Katerynivka. During the offensive, Ukrainian forces also regained control of Karpivka and Novomykhailivka, recapturing a total of 176 km² of Ukrainian territory.