Ukraine says it captured Russian soldier hiding for 6 months in Kharkov

Special forces soldiers of the Ukrainian National Guard next to an armored personnel carrier (Photo: Defence Blog).

The Guardian reported on March 14 that Ukrainian police discovered and arrested a 42-year-old man while patrolling the Kupiansk - Vuzlovyi area in Kharkov.

Local authorities later confirmed that the man was a Russian soldier from the 27th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade. The soldier had likely become separated from his unit and had been in hiding for six months after Russian forces withdrew from Kharkov.

"After a search, the man was confirmed to be from the Moscow region and a serviceman of the 27th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of Russia. He admitted that he had been hiding in the liberated area of Kupiansk after the Ukrainian army took control of the city," Kharkov police said.

According to the Guardian , when he was arrested, the man was wearing civilian clothes and was in stable health. The soldier was taken to a local police station for further questioning.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on the above information.

On September 11, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had withdrawn its troops from many locations in Ukraine's Kharkov province after Kiev's lightning and unexpected counterattack in the northeastern province of Ukraine.

Military experts say that the "diversionary" tactic is one of the key factors leading to the victory of the Ukrainian army in Kharkov.

Ukrainian troops move captured tanks after Russian soldiers left Kharkov on September 11 (Photo: Reuters).

Accordingly, before suddenly turning to Kharkov, for many months, Ukrainian leaders and military commanders continuously talked about a major counter-offensive campaign in the Kherson region in the south of the country.

The disinformation campaign may have misled Russian military commanders into believing that Kiev was preparing a major offensive against Moscow’s southern Ukrainian defenses. Since late July, Russia has been sending a large amount of military hardware and troops to Kherson to reinforce its defenses in the southern Ukrainian province. Moscow has also sent elite special forces trained in counter-attack tactics to Kherson, some of which are stationed in Kharkov.

This makes Russia's defense line in Kharkov fragile and vulnerable to what are considered "fast and sharp" attacks by the Ukrainian army.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ukraine-noi-bat-giu-binh-si-nga-an-nau-6-thang-tai-kharkov-20230314135152130.htm