LPR Fighter Surrendered to the Ukrainian Army. During SBU Interrogation He Revealed Valuable Information

The 23-year-old fighter said he could not endure abuse from Russian handlers and also became drug-dependent because of them.

In Luhansk Oblast, an armed fighter of the terrorist organization "LPR" voluntarily surrendered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, crossing the line of demarcation while on "duty".

He said that drugs are a "common occurrence" at the combat positions of the pseudo-republic, and that he decided to switch sides after being unable to endure abuse from the Russian occupiers overseeing the terrorist organization.

Switching Sides

As reported on Facebook by the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo, on September 28, around 17:30, an armed fighter of the so-called "LPR" came to the positions of the Royal Brigade and voluntarily surrendered.

"We were on combat duty and were monitoring with observation equipment to prevent enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups from passing through. We saw someone unknown moving in the direction of our positions. Watching carefully, we let the person approach very close. Within a few minutes we realized it was a soldier with a weapon. When he came up close to our observer, we quickly disarmed him and immediately reported to our commander," the soldiers note.

The 23-year-old junior sergeant served "in" the illegal armed formation "6th Separate Motorized Rifle Regiment" based in occupied Kadiivka, in the "position" of driver-mechanic.

The fighter officially joined the Russian-occupation mercenaries back in 2016, as soon as he came of age. He was brought into the fighters by his own father, who served in an adjacent unit.

It is reported that the recruit was promised a high salary and given a weapon, and within the circle of ardent admirers of the "Russian world" he tried drugs for the first time. "Fellow servicemen" treated him, and the young man became drug-dependent.

According to the fighter, drugs and alcohol are quite common in his unit. And discipline, as a concept, is absent altogether.

It is noted that the young man decided to voluntarily cross into territory controlled by Ukraine, unable to endure "abuse and constant humiliation from both the Russian handlers and his fellow servicemen".

At the same time, the defector was not stopped even by the minefields that the Russian-occupation forces laid in front of their positions, and by the plain possibility of being shot in the back by his own fighters, the brigade noted.

The brigade noted that, under Part 6 of Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the state guarantees exemption from liability for a person who did not commit serious crimes, voluntarily left the ranks of the illegal armed formation and reported this to law enforcement.

Details of the SBU Interrogation

Later, the SBU published a video of the interrogation of the LPR fighter who escaped from the terrorists to the positions of Ukrainian military.

SBU officers established that the fighter is a former resident of Popasna, now controlled by Ukrainian authorities.

In 2014 he went to the temporarily occupied territory together with his father, who was an active participant in illegal armed formations.

He served in various positions and took part in armed resistance against units of the ATO/JFO forces.

The fighter gave testimony to SBU investigators. According to him, he became disillusioned with the ideas of the terrorist organization and decided to return to his hometown. He had no other option than to escape during a duty shift.

SBU investigators informed the detainee of suspicion of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 260 (creating unlawful armed formations not provided for by law or participating in their activities) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

A preventive measure in the form of detention has been chosen for the suspect. Pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

In the published interrogation video, the fighter also reveals the names of former "fellow servicemen" from the illegal armed formation, provides details on how military equipment is driven for repairs, and shares tactical information about the presence of cameras along the demarcation line in his sector.