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Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces worry they will face a grim fate if they return home and that their 'funerals have already been arranged'.
While the Ukrainian defence ministry has invited the mothers of captured Russian soldiers to come and collect their sons from Kyiv, troops are now claiming that they'll be 'dead' if they go back to their homeland.
One soldier, speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, said his parents had told him that a funeral had already been prepared for him, The Telegraph reports.
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"In Russia, we are already considered dead," the soldier said, who was deployed with Russia’s 2nd Motor Rifle Division.
"I was given the opportunity to call my parents and they told me that a funeral for me had already been arranged.
“If we are exchanged, then we will be shot by our own people.”
The captured soldier's grim prediction comes days after a Russian commander was captured by Ukrainian forces.
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Lieutenant Colonel Astakhov Dmitry Mikhailovich called the attacks on Ukraine 'genocide' and detailed how misinformed Russians had been tricked into joining the conflict with misinformation.
He said he and his fellow soldiers were lied to and were operating under the false belief that the government had been overthrown by Nazis.
“I just sincerely hope for your mercy towards those people who come to you with their hands up, or those who are wounded," he said.
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“I feel sorry for people left in Russia …they are not guilty. Their guilt is that they are misinformed.
"Some do not even have internet. They have no chance to use something alternative. They are constantly brain-washed.
"They get this unilateral information that Ukraine is seized by fascists."
His comments come as Ukrainian forces have posted videos of sobbing Russian soldiers and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of lying to them about the invasion.
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Although Ukraine's aim was for the videos to decimate support for the Ukrainian invasion in Russia, the International Red Cross has condemned the move, saying that the videos break the Geneva Convention.
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"The law states they must be protected," the International Red Cross said in a statement.
"This includes from acts of violence, intimidation and ill-treatment. They also must be treated with dignity and not exposed to public curiosity – like circulating images on social media."
While Russians fighting in Ukraine fear death and punishment if they return home to the Kremlin, anyone who criticises the war could now be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison under new laws passed to target 'fake news'.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.
Featured Image Credit: @ServiceSs/andreslebedev/Alamy Stock Photo
