The recording shows Russian soldier Ruslan Dmitriev calling his mother from Ukrainian captivity. The video was posted on the X website by former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Anton Herashchenko.
-What do you want from me? – says the soldier's mother dryly. -You don't want to talk to me, mom? Don't you care that I'm in bondage? That I'm alive? – the Russian asks in response. The military man told the woman that he was sent on “meat assaults” and that the Russian army treated him inhumanely.
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Why does the Russian soldier not want to return to Russia?
How did the mother react when he shared his feelings?
How many people from the soldier's group survived?
How does a Russian evaluate the treatment he receives from Ukrainians?
The mother asked her son how she could help him. He replied that he only wanted to talk to her because it was the only chance to contact his loved ones.
“I will not fight for Russia”
The Russian then tells the woman about his plans. He emphasizes that he will no longer fight for Russia. — I will not return to Russia. I will not fight for Russia. I do not intend to fight on the Ukrainian side and I will not return to Russia. If I go anywhere, it will only be to Kazakhstan. I won't go back to a country where they don't treat me like a human being, Dmitriev said emotionally.
He added that only three out of six people from the group he belonged to survived. He also noted that, unlike Russians, Ukrainians treat him well, “they feed him, water him and don't beat him.” — Do you understand the difference, Mom? – he asks the woman, who answers in the affirmative, even though she initially said that her son's decision to leave the army was madness. “You realize that would be desertion?” she asked.
Dmitriev emphasized that his decision was final. As he said, “if he returns to Russia, he will go to the front again,” so the only option is to stay in Ukraine.
