Russian reserve forces gather in Omsk (Photo: Reuters).
More than 100 Russian soldiers have surrendered near the town of Avdiivka over the past month due to low morale and severe cold, the Kyiv Post on January 12 quoted Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun of the Tavria Group of Forces of the Ukrainian army.
Mr. Shtupun did not provide evidence for the above assertion.
"Because of the frost and cold, we expect more waves because it is quite difficult to stand on the battlefield with the type of equipment that most Russian soldiers are issued," the colonel said.
This person also confirmed that a Ukrainian military unit on the southern front captured 40 Russian prisoners of war who surrendered before a recent Ukrainian infantry raid.
Meanwhile, in the southern Kherson province, Ukrainian soldiers fired artillery shells containing leaflets calling on Russian servicemen to surrender.
On January 12, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Army, also shared a video showing a Russian soldier surrendering and being taken prisoner. According to the post, this prisoner is named Sergey Saranchin, with the rank of Sergeant.
The post said that Saranchin felt "abandoned, without food, shelter and water" after being deployed to the battlefield, so he quickly surrendered with his comrades in the unit.
"This person believes that it is better to go to jail and mow lawns than to go to war again," Mr. Syrskyi's post read.
Earlier this week, Colonel Shtupun told Espreso TV that a Russian platoon of nearly 40 soldiers had recently fled the battlefield.
Mr Shtupun said the men had "fled towards Crimea", the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently asserted that without a “victory,” Kiev will not consider ending hostilities or even a ceasefire.
“A pause in the Ukrainian battlefield will not mean a pause in fighting,” he rejected a ceasefire with Russia at a press conference in Estonia on January 11. “A pause will benefit Russia and then they can crush us.”
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