A citizen of Kazakhstan, Nursultan, who fought as part of the Russian army, surrendered to soldiers of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo after being abandoned by his own command.

This is stated in the description of a video published on the 24th Brigade’s page.

A choice without a choice

According to the prisoner, he went to Moscow to earn money, where he was detained by police. During the detention, he was accused of drug possession and given a choice: 15 years in prison or signing a contract with the Russian army.

Nursultan chose war.

Kherson region — Chasiv Yar

At first, he was sent to fight in the Kherson direction, and later transferred to the area of Chasiv Yar. According to him, during one of the combat missions, the Russian command left his group without support.

Together with another occupier, he decided to surrender in order to save his life.

“That is not War — that is survival”

In the video, Nursultan talks about the conditions of service in the Russian army, chaos within units, and everyday life that resembled survival rather than combat operations.

In particular, he recalls episodes that, in his words, clearly illustrate the real state of affairs:

  • “We lived outside for four days, and on the fifth I told my partner that we needed to move into a chicken coop, otherwise we would freeze and get sick”; 
  • “We went into a basement, and it was walled in. We broke it open — and there was a VDV soldier living there.” 

At the end of the video, he addresses his relatives and admits that he lost everything by agreeing to fight for Russia.