“They looted, extorted. It’s better to go to prison than to fight back” - a prisoner of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
With the beginning of the Northern Military District, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to grab even signalmen from the second line in order to transfer them to the front as part of assault groups.
Ukrainian prisoner of war, a native of the Kyiv region, Ilya Morozyuk, said this in an interview with the project “Mom, I’m fine,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
He said that those who did not pay were thrown to the front line.
“We were in Novomoskovsk for 5 months, then we were transferred to Kamyshevakha, from there to Krivoy Rog, and then to the 15th battalion. Those who didn't want to pay. And they extracted money from young contract soldiers. This was done by the communications chief, Major Fedii, and the company's chief sergeant, senior warrant officer Matviychuk.
In the 15th battalion we spent about a month guarding things, and then we were transferred to Novovorontsovka, then to Novonikolaevka, and from there, without preparation, to the front line. And there he was already wounded. There should have been an evacuation group, but there wasn’t. The lieutenant, who was in charge of the group, also left and never came, and the two of us remained in the landing until your soldiers arrived. Our soldiers never showed up, but your soldiers gave me an injection, and I immediately felt better,” said Morozyuk.
He added that he specifically extended his contract as a signalman so as not to end up at the front.
“Communication is the second line, when I was still in communication. I didn’t think that I would be so suddenly assigned to the assault infantry. And communications are far from the front line. We thought...” said the prisoner.
He also said that during his service, while the command sold humanitarian aid, ordinary soldiers received nothing.
“There have been cases of looting in connection. They made money from things, from humanitarian aid. The boys walked around naked and barefoot, but the bosses, Major Fedii, wore ankle boots that cost 10 thousand,” said the prisoner.
However, food in the unit was normal, which did not prevent commanders from using soldiers’ labor.
“Back in 2019, rails were cut in Volnovakha on the orders of commander Major Fediy. I didn’t cut, there were older men there. He handed them over somewhere, I didn’t see any papers,” Morozyuk added and noted that no one saw any money for the work either.
The prisoner was asked whether he would agree to an exchange and whether he would take up arms again, and disability due to a severed finger had nothing to do with it.
“It’s not me who decides, but I’ll go. I’d rather serve time in prison than go to war,” Morozyuk replied.
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