Ukraine’s 12th Azov Special Purpose Brigade, operating under the National Guard, has taken 20 Russian soldiers prisoner near Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast, according to the Brigade’s statement released on 27 March.
The unit reported that the captives survived combat in a sector where many of their fellow Russian troops were killed during failed assaults, Militarnyi reports.
“They were lucky to survive. Most of their ‘comrades’ still lie in the fields and tree lines after unsuccessful attacks,” the statement read.
Among the prisoners are a platoon commander, a squad leader, riflemen, driver-riflemen, and grenade launchers. Several are reportedly from Russia’s Far East and Caucasus regions. The majority served in the 9th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, a unit originally formed from the 9th Marine Regiment of the Russian-run “Donetsk People’s Republic.”
That brigade now operates as part of the Russian Federation’s 51st Guards Combined Arms Army, which was formed on the basis of the “DNR’s” former 1st Army Corps.
Toretsk axis
The Toretsk sector is among the key targets of Russia’s continued ground assaults in Donetsk Oblast, while recently Ukraine started to regain its previously lost positions in the area.
Militarnyi previously reported that on 16 January, Azov fighters captured another group of 23 Russian troops in the same operational sector. At that time, Russian soldiers reportedly surrendered voluntarily, with some found hiding in basements and others detained during active combat around enemy positions.
Related:
- ISW: Ukraine advances in Belgorod; Russia pushes in Kursk, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and near Toretsk
- Russia sentences Ukrainian prisoners of war to 13-23 years in prison over Azov case
- ISW: Ukrainians advance in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast
- Ukrainian Air Force strikes Russian troops’ staging area in Toretsk
- Fire at Russian oil facility expands after explosion, injuring two firefighters
- ISW: Russia and Ukraine have not finalized long-range strikes ceasefire