Ukraine’s defence ministry has implored the mothers of Russian soldiers to come to the capital Kyiv to collect their sons from the invasion.
As the first week since Russia invaded Ukraine nears a conclusion, the Ukrainian defence ministry has launched an apparent attempt to shame and embarrass Russia for how it is going, offering Russian mothers the chance to come and get their sons to take them home.
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They said: “A decision has been taken to hand over captured Russian troops to their mothers if they come to collect them in Ukraine, in Kyiv.”
There have been reports of Ukrainians providing tea and food to Russian soldiers who have been captured or surrendered, as well as a video circulating that implies one was allowed to video call his mum to let her know he was alive and being looked after.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk has also asked the International Red Cross to give them assistance in getting the dead bodies of Russia soldiers back to their homeland.
Last week she said: "There are thousands of invaders’ bodies. This is a humanitarian need.
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"We ask for the bodies of the invaders to leave Ukrainian territory and go to Russia.
"We call upon Russians again to make it so that there are fewer bodies of your sons, of your men, otherwise there will be thousands of them."
She concluded: “I say it again, victory will be ours.”
In another statement released by the Ukrainian military, it was claimed that a group of Russian soldiers who were captured had only learned they were being sent to Ukraine the day before the invasion commenced, and thought they were only heading there to gather information before being sent home.
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A quote that has been attributed to the commander of the platoon Konstantin Buynichev read: "Nobody thought that we were going to kill.
"We were not going to fight – we were collecting information."
Today marks the seventh day since Russia entered Ukraine, and so far they have been met with fierce resistance from those within the country, as well as widespread condemnation from many within the international community.
A second round of diplomatic talks is set to take place after the first negotiations on Monday were unsuccessful.
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However, hope of an agreement seems to be low, as Ukrainian presidential adviser Olexiy Arestovych told Suspilne TV: "I think things will stay the same. Nothing will change.
"We will stick by our position."
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, World News
Tom Wood