Featured Image Credit: Synel/Stocktrek Images, Inc./Alamy
Topics: Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Russia, News
Rachel Lang
Topics: Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Russia, News
Captured Russian soldiers have a warning for President Vladimir Putin: we're coming for you.
"I want to tell our commander-in-chief to stop terror acts in Ukraine because when we come back we'll rise against him," a captured Russian pilot told CNN.
Three air force pilots have come out with a clear caution for the Kremlin head, telling Putin he 'will not hide [the truth of the Ukraine war] for long' because 'many' troops share their sentiments, and 'sooner or later, we will come home'.
The pilots appeared at a round table conference to share their thoughts on the war after their capture.
The trio told media they could not justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with officer and fighter-bomber pilot Maxim claiming many Russian soldiers 'are totally against' the conflict.
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"They have many relatives and friends [in Ukraine], and they were told it was an operation localised to [the breakaway Russian-backed Donetsk area], and not an attack on the whole country," Maxim said.
"My division was totally against it."
The trio laid blame at the feet of their Russian commanders for their 'horrifying' crimes against 'peaceful Ukrainian civilians', stating that 'you cannot forgive such things'.
"I don't know, what can justify, f**k, the tears of a child, or even worse, the deaths of innocent people, children," one Russian fighter pilot named Maxim said.
The pilots also told of Russia's misinformation campaign, joining the growing chorus of soldiers who have told how they were brought to fight in Ukraine under false pretences.
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The pilot named Maxim told media he had believed the disinformation about fascism and Nazism in Ukraine that was fed to them by the Kremlin.
Now, he thinks claims of Nazism were 'invented as a pretext' for the Russian invasion, adding that he knows 'the world cannot understand'.
'But Putin and his circle need this in order to achieve their own objectives," Maxim said.
"One such step was that it would be beneficial for them to spread disinformation about fascism and Nazism.
"We didn't see any Nazis or fascists. Russians and Ukrainians can communicate in the same language, so we see the good [in these people]."
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The statement made by the Russian air force pilots echoes claims made just over a week ago when a Russian commander was captured by Ukrainian forces.
Lieutenant Colonel Astakhov Dmitry Mikhailovich called the attacks on Ukraine 'genocide' and detailed how hoodwinked Russians had been tricked into joining the conflict by Kremlin misinformation.
Mikhailovich said he and his fellow soldiers were lied to and were operating under the false belief that the government had been overthrown by Nazis.
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.