“If we are exchanged, we will be killed or not allowed to live in Russia”: the captive invaders want to stay in Ukraine because they are afraid of coming back

They announced this during the press-conference, Espreso.TV reports. 

According to junior sergeant Andriy Chebotarevsky who served in the first tank regiment of the second Moscow Motorized Infantry Division, his mother received a death notice.

“We decided to come to tell the whole world about what we had seen there. In Russia we are considered to be dead, our relatives receive death notices. We want to stay here while Putin's regime is in place. We are afraid to come back, we became criminals because of the Russian president. We were not told anything, our documents were taken away, because of the command we became criminals, got to another country, and we want to stay instead of coming back. I was given a chance to call my parents and I was told they had received my death notice. It means the Russian Federation considers us to be dead. If we are exchanged, we will be killed or not allowed to live in Russia,” he is convinced.

At the same time another captive Valeriy Palnov said his mother was told that he was on military exercises.

“My mother personally came to the military registration and enlistment office and was told that we were on military exercises near Voronezh. Until recently, she has not known we are in Ukraine. And she can not do anything,” he said.

Also, another Russian serviceman Yevgeny Smirnov said at night of the invasion, they were forced to drive on their vehicles at 2 o'clock, and were told they were going on a march to the point where they would spend the night and return later on. Already at 9 am they were on the border with Ukraine. When they asked what they were doing here, the command refused to give explanations.

He also claimed he was shocked when in captivity he saw what the Russian troops were doing on the territory of Ukraine.

“The civilians live in bunkers, the Russian army shows no mercy at all, they are shooting the elderly. Actually, it is pretty scary. I decided voluntarily to stay in Ukraine while Putin's law is in force, we will be either imprisoned or shot, we don't know what will happen, but most likely we will be killed, and our parents will receive a death notice that his son died unknown where and unknown how,” he answered.

What is more, the captive confirmed that the number of the dead among the Russian servicemen reached 12,000 already.