Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The Russian’s were reportedly on infiltration missions, including “propaganda footage” missions.
In the quiet villages of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, military operations do not always look like massive tank battles. Sometimes the goal is far more deceptive.
According to reports from Ukraine’s 225th Separate Assault Regiment, several Russian teams recently received very specific orders. They were instructed to cross into Ukrainian territory without firing a single shot.
Their main task was to hunt down Ukrainian drone operators and gather fresh intelligence. Crucially, commanders also told them to raise Russian flags across local settlements for “propaganda footage,” falsely portraying the villages as captured.
That stealthy plan collapsed when Ukrainian troops spotted the infiltrators in towns such as Ternuvate and Rizdvianka. Instead of staging a photo opportunity, the soldiers found themselves completely surrounded.
Surrender in the south
Ukrainian forces moved quickly to sweep the surrounding countryside. They cleared out infiltrating troops near Kosivtseve, Verkhnia Tersa, and Vozdvyzhivka in a series of swift maneuvers.
The sweep yielded a major prize for the Ukrainian military. In total, defenders captured 64 Russian soldiers over the course of roughly a month and a half, adding them directly to the pool of prisoners available for future exchanges.
Footage published by the regiment later showed several captives recounting their experiences on camera, with one POW explaining that he had been told to avoid close-quarters combat “to minimize casualties.”
Another soldier described how his surrender unfolded without violence. He said that Ukrainian forces offered them a chance to surrender and then “immediately fed” them before leading them away from danger.
Uncertain battlefield reality
The unit responsible for the sweep carries real weight on the battlefield. Military analysts view the 225th Separate Assault Regiment as a key unit closely linked to Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Even so, full details about the raid remain incomplete. The regiment did not state when the captures occurred, and independent sources have not verified the unit’s account.
Regardless, the sheer size of the capture highlights ongoing friction in the south. It suggests that behind the artillery duels, quiet operations can rapidly shift the balance on the ground.
Possible Ukrainian war crime
The video of the prisoners released by the Ukrainian regiment, however, might actually depict a war crime.
According to the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war must be treated humanely and cannot be exposed to public curiosity, paraded, or interrogated in front of the media.
The video released by the 225th Separate Assault Regiment shows the alleged Russian soldiers sitting in what appears to be a basement, and their faces are not blurred, meaning the video might violate the Geneva Conventions’ prohibition on exposing prisoners of war to public curiosity.
This is also the reason, we have chosen not to share the video.
