Captured Russian soldiers call for end to war in Ukraine saying innocent people are dying

2 March 2022, 16:00 | Updated: 10 March 2022, 09:32

Russian prisoners of war have been captured on video praying for an end to the conflict in Ukraine, saying they were not told they were being sent there to fight and adding innocent civilians are dying.

The footage has been posted on social media by the Ukrainian Security Service.

A number of clips show distressed Russian soldiers in tears, with one saying he did not expect to be sent into war like "cannon meat".

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Another breaks down during a telephone conversation with his mother, telling her: "They sent us to our death."

It is estimated that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers have been captured or killed in the conflict so far.

In one video, featuring a number of captured soldiers, one says "I did not know I was going to Ukraine, everything turned out deceptively", while another adds: "They said we would go there and come back."

One soldier says there are "peaceful people all over the place", adding "nobody wants war", while another says later: "What Russia wants from it I cannot understand."

They describe the Ukrainian military as "good people" who "feed us" and provide first aid, and "don't beat, don't torture us".

"Here people live their lives, and the military defend themselves, fighting back from the Russian army in order to protect their forces, their children," one says.

In a separate clip, a soldier, making a phone call to his wife, says: "We need to get our guys out of here, I want to go home too."

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"Right now, civilians are being suffering because of these fools of ours. A lot of innocent people," he adds.

A further video shows a solider admitting "kindergartens, schools, hospitals" are being bombed.

"I have no desire to fight against the Ukrainian people," he says.

He adds: "It cannot continue, we need to stop this war... on both sides people are dying... it's just horror, suffering of innocent people."

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Ukraine's State Emergency Service has said that 2,000 civilians have been killed during the invasion.

Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says more than 874,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion last week.

It comes as the Kyiv Independent acquired a voice recording of a woman purportedly from the Russian town of Aleysk, who says a brigade from the region had suffered catastrophic losses in Ukraine with "just 18 out of 150" young soldiers surviving.