The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Fighters of the 3rd Mechanized Battalion “Yizhaky” of the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade captured a Russian assault trooper from the 556th Regiment of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation near Oleksiivka in Dnipropetrovsk region. The captive spoke about the practice of the “zero line”, blocking detachments, and threats from command.
This is stated in a video released by the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade.
During interrogation, the captive said he had a criminal past and had served three prison sentences. According to him, about seven months remained until the end of his term when he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The prisoner claims that he initially expected to be assigned work according to his specialty (he identified himself as a welder) and to “repair equipment”, but upon arrival, commanders immediately stated, according to him: “there will be no work — there is only one path, into assault units”.
According to the captive, the training lasted approximately 14 days and included elements of tactical shooting, communications, driving, and navigation. At the same time, he emphasized that “in essence, they taught us nothing,” and that basic knowledge was passed on by those who already had combat experience.
Separately, the Russian assault trooper spoke about the practice of the “zero line”, when people are forced to move forward under the threat of being shot by their own forces. The video also contains claims about threats from commanders and information pressure before being sent into assaults — in particular intimidation regarding captivity.
