Ukrainians at war with their own country claim that Moscow now leaves them at the bottom of the list: "No longer wants us"

Ukrainian soldiers fighting against their country claim Moscow is now leaving them at the bottom of the list: "It no longer wants us." In a Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camp, both Russians and Ukrainians who joined Russian forces are held, revealing complex motivations behind their involvement in the war. Behind high walls and numerous locked doors in a camp on western Ukraine, men captured during combat on the Russian side spend their days in the shadow of a prison yard. Many of them were recruited in major Russian cities such as St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, indicating that conscription is no longer limited to poorer and more remote parts of Russia, according to BBC reports. Among the prisoners are not only Russians but also Ukrainian citizens who have gone to war against their own country. Conversations with wartime prisoners require special caution. It must be determined whether they speak freely and how credible their testimonies are under the circumstances they find themselves in. Since access to the Russian military within Russia is impossible, their statements provide rare insight into the war and the motives of those involved. Among them are soldiers born in Ukraine who have joined Russian forces. All of them were offered the option to refuse the interview, and those who agreed spoke without the presence of guards or cameras. Born in Ukraine, loyal to Moscow Anton was ten years old when pro-Moscow forces took control over part of eastern Donbas where he lived. When Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022, Anton was eighteen and immediately signed up for the Russian army. "I don't regret my choice. I went to defend my country," says Anton, claiming that his friends also voluntarily enlisted. "Then messages started coming. Dead, dead, dead." Other prisoners also talk about similar experiences. Almost all of those who went to war say many of their comrades have died. At the same time, they claim fewer and fewer people are willing to take their place, despite large financial incentives for recruitment. This could mean that Putin's policy of avoiding mass mobilization will soon face serious testing. Ukrainian forces consider citizens captured while fighting on the Russian side as traitors and initiate legal proceedings against them. After that, however, they send them to prisoner-of-war camps together with Russian soldiers. Kyiv still officially considers them Ukrainians, and Russian control over their regions temporary. The situation on the ground, however, is much more complicated. "I am not a traitor" "Petro Jacenko from the Ukrainian coordination center for prisoners of war says, "They are very pro-Russian oriented, and their national identity is quite unclear." Anton does not see himself as a traitor. "I consider myself a Russian. The state means nothing, nationality is essential. My whole family is from Russia. All my roots are there," he says. At mention of his Ukrainian surname, he simply shakes his head. An entire generation grew up under occupation, with the Russian education system and media completely controlled by the Kremlin, which for years portrayed Kyiv as "Nazis." Anton has accepted this narrative and today speaks almost exclusively in the language of Russian propaganda. He calls Putin "his president" and believes the Russian president should continue the war until he captures the rest of Donbas, even though hundreds of thousands of people have already died in that attempt. "It's sad that people have died, especially innocent ones," Anton says. "But war is war. It could have been stopped, but nobody wanted it." Anger after experience in the Russian army In a prison hospital, lying on a bed in the corner of the room, Artiom lies with his body full of shrapnel, having spent only two months on the battlefield. Like Anton, he comes from Donetsk and volunteered for the war, although money was not his only motivation. "We have our reasons for anger," says Artiom, recalling the heavy shelling of his region in 2014 when Ukrainian forces tried to prevent its separation. However, his experience in the Russian army has left him bitter.