'SHOW US MERCY'
Captured Russian commander begs for forgiveness, says sorry to Ukraine & that soldiers are ’embarrassed’ by invasion
A RUSSIAN commander captured by Ukrainian forces has given a powerful statement condemning his country's military aggression and pleaded with Ukraine to show "mercy" to his countrymen.
The captive, a Lieutenant Colonel in Russia's National Guard, claimed he and his fellow soldiers had been lied to about Ukraine, and said he was ready to "go to jail" for his part in the invasion.
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Lieutenant Colonel Astakhov Dmitry Mikhailovich was speaking at a media conference alongside two fellow captured Russian soldiers last Thursday but which was shared widely on Monday.
He is believed to be the most senior Russian soldier to speak out against the invasion so far.
Mikhailovich told reporters he was in the Russian National Guard's special response unit team, and that Putin's original announcement to invade Ukraine had come suddenly and taken his unit by surprise.
He insisted he was speaking freely, and that he hadn't been pressured or intimidated into his statement by his Ukrainian captors.
Becoming emotional, he apologised directly to Ukraine, but admitted: "I cannot find the words to say sorry to the Ukrainian people," and said he would "understand" if Russia was never forgiven.
He urged Ukraine to let Russian soldiers live and said: "Many of them are just embarrassed. They do not want war."
Mikhailovich instead called for the soldiers to be sent home to Russia alive to tell their fellow Russians "what happened here".
He added: "I just sincerely hope for your mercy towards those people who come to you with their hands up, or those who are wounded. We should not sow death. It's better to sow life."
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Mikhailovich, who denied he was being pressured by his captors into speaking, addressed his fellow Russian soldiers directly.
"Guys, be brave," he said. "It's easier for me, I'm in this situation already.
"You are in a tense situation, going against your own commander. But this is genocide."
He went on: "Russia cannot win here anyway. Even if we go until the very end. We can invade the territory, but we cannot invade the people."
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The commander said that "a Russian would be ashamed to confess that he is Russian" following the invasion.
Describing the start of the invasion on February 22, he said he and his comrades were told Ukraine was "dominated by a fascist regime", that "nationalists and Nazis had seized power," and that they were there to help the people of Ukraine get rid of them.
"Obviously, this information was unilateral information," he said.
"Of course, we have internet, sometimes we get something from other sources. We had some doubts. We did not know the situation for sure."
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He said he had further doubts on learning that his favourite boxers, Ukrainians Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, were both planning to fight against the invasion.
"I feel shame that we came to this country," he said.
The colonel went on: "I don't know why we were doing it. We knew very little. We brought sorrow to this land."
He added that he and his fellow captives were prepared to "go to jail or whatever we deserve," for their actions in Ukraine.
In a stunning condemnation of Putin's regime, Mikhailovich said he felt "sorry" for people back home in Russia who are "misinformed" about the war.
"Some do not even have internet," he said. "They have no alternative (to state media). They are constantly brainwashed."
He went on: "Maybe I really deserved to learn this lesson, so I could finally see and try to tell it to those who are in Russia. They do not realise what is happening here."
And he admitted that he would "do the same" as the Ukrainians in resisting an invasion if the equivalent had happened in Russia.
We can invade the territory, but we cannot invade the people
Lieutenant Colonel Astakhov Dmitry Mikhailovich
It comes as the civilian death toll in Ukraine continues to rise, despite the Russian insistence that its forces are only attacking military targets.
A total of 406 Ukrainian civilians including 27 children have died since the conflict began, the UN Human Rights Agency has said.
It added that 801 injuries have been reported as well, although the true figure could be far higher.
A mother and her two children were among the dead yesterday as merciless Russian troops fired on families fleeing the carnage in Ukraine.
At least eight people were killed when missiles rained down on hundreds of terrified locals as they ran across a bridge to escape the bombardment of Irpin near Kyiv.
Speaking after the attack in a video address, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to punish "every bastard" who committed atrocities during the war.
Describing the family killed in Irpin, he said: "They were just trying to get out of town. To escape. The whole family. How many such families have died in Ukraine?
"We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war."
Addressing the Russian forces behind the attack, Zelenskyy said: "There will be no quiet place on this earth for you. Except for the grave."
Shocking footage of the strike which killed the family thought to be a girl aged eight and her brother with their mum was recorded by reporters.
It is believed a family friend was also killed in the strike.
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Around a dozen soldiers were helping people carry bags across a bridge over the River Irpin when they were forced to scatter by incoming missiles.
A soldier was telling one journalist how heartbroken families had been trying to bring their dead children out of the town when the missile slammed into the road just yards away.
Medics dashed across the road to tend to the family but the mother and her two children were killed instantly.
Only the father and the family dog - barking in terror in a small carrier - survived.
Harrowing photos taken during the aftermath show bodies draped under sheets with their precious suitcases alongside them.
And other pictures show four bodies sprawled on the roadside as two soldiers tend to them.
This comes amid ever tighter censorship in Russia in a bid to control the narrative about the war.
Last week, Putin's regime blocked Russian citizens' access to Facebook and major foreign news networks such as the BBC on Friday, in a further clampdown on freedom of speech.
The Russian parliament, the Duma, has also pushed through a law threatening anyone spreading "fake news" about the Ukrainian war with up to 15 years in prison.
Announcing the law, the chair of the Duma's legislative body Vyacheslav Volodin said: "Literally by tomorrow, this law will force punishment - and very tough punishment - on those who lied and made statements which discredited our armed forces."
Despite strict censorship and the threat of prison, tens of thousands of brave Russians have protested the war at home.
Thousands of Russians have been arrested already after taking to the streets to condemn Putin's invasion.
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Russia has been condemned after its troops failed to honour humanitarian corridors set up to get civilians out of the war zone.
At least eight were killed in Irpin alone while evacuations in the city were underway, according to mayor Oleksandr Markushyn.
Ukraine's president has slammed western leaders, accusing them of failing to respond to the Russian defence ministry's announcement that it would strike at Ukraine's military and industry.
"I didn't hear even a single world leader react to this," he said.
"The audacity of the aggressor is a clear signal to the west that the sanctions imposed on Russia are not sufficient."
Today, Russia has announced yet another ceasefire and said a handful of humanitarian corridors would be opened, even as Russian forces continued to pummel many of Ukraine's cities.
Ahead of a third round of talks planned for Monday, Russia's Defence Ministry said the ceasefire would begin from 10am Moscow time (7am GMT), and safe passages would open for civilians from Kyiv, the southern port city of Mariupol, and the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy in the east.
But this morning, Kyiv's mayor, former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, has claimed Russian troops are ignoring the fresh ceasefire and said fierce fighting is continuing around his city.
He said a colleague, Yuri Prilipko, had been killed in shelling "while distributing bread and medicine to the people".
The man had been "with the community until his last breath," he added.
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Today, the Red Cross has claimed that so-called humanitarian corridors civilians were supposed to be evacuated through were mined by the Russians.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Dominik Stillhart from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said some staff had tried on Sunday to get out of Mariupol along the agreed route but soon realised "the road indicated to them was actually mined".
Although he didn't say whether this was a deliberate targeting of civilians by Russia, he called on "the two parties (to) have a precise agreement for us then to be able to facilitate it on the ground".
In a video message this morning, President Zelenskyy has accused Putin of wanting to "destroy humanity itself".
Addressing his people, he said: "We never wanted this war, but this war was brought to us.
"We never wanted to kill anyone but we have to fight back to get the enemy out of our land and out of our life."
He added: "We have to tolerate what a single nation in Europe didn't have to tolerate for the last 70 years."
Zelenskyy also called for fresh sanctions on Russia "if the situation gets worse," and said an embargo on Russian oil was needed.
Describing Putin, he went on: "If somebody loses their mind, then we need to lose the fear and forget about business, we need to fight against inhumane evil that wants to destroy humanity itself."
He said: "There are many people in Ukraine who are capable of fighting for our country, for our freedom, for our national flag."
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And he also hit out at Russia's continued accusations that Ukraine is harbouring neo-Nazis.
"Ukraine and terror - these are completely different notions. We will never have a swastika in our land."
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