Ukrainian forces attacking to recover lost ground in the strategic Pokrovsk sector in past weeks have taken dozens of prisoners, in the biggest bag of Russian soldiers captured in combat by Kyiv’s troops in more than a year.
Task groups from Ukrainian air assault infantry and national guard formations have made public content confirming the capture of at least 69 enemy personnel in combat since early August. Some evidence points to more than 100 Russian service personnel taken prisoner in the last month of fighting, according to unit reports and published official statements reviewed by Kyiv Post.
Russian infantry forces in late July in a surprise infiltration offensive carved out a 15-kilometer salient in Ukraine-held territory near the town Dobropillia, threatening the major logistics and communications hub Pokrovsk. The Kremlin in early 2025 declared the city a primary objective for Russia’s spring and summer offensives.
A powerful counterattack force assembled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) leadership has since recovered about two thirds of the lost ground. The AFU is understood to have inflicted more than 1,000 Russian casualties, and surrounded surviving Russian troops in pockets. Estimates of the size of the Russian force trapped have varied from a few hundred to a few thousand.
Official Kremlin sources such as the Russian Defense Ministry have not commented on the Dobropillia battles, but claim Russian troops are gaining ground in the Pokrovsk sector. Independent and Ukrainian sources have not confirmed those claims.
The major Ukrainian formations participating in the counterattacks against the Dobropillia salient reporting that Russian prisoners have been taken, include: the National Guard’s 1st “Azov” Corps and 4th “Rubezh” Brigades; the elite 79th and of 82nd Air Assault Brigades; and the heavily armed 92nd Assault and 93rd Mechanized Brigades. All are seasoned fighting outfits with strong combat records.
Three smaller, elite infantry units – 1st, 210th, and 425th Assault Infantry Regiments – have been in action in the Dobpropillia sector as well, particularly as spear-tip units for counterattacks. The analytical group Defense Politics Asia in a Sept. 7 analysis called the August spike Ukrainian captures of Russian prisoners “a shocking increase” compared with July.
The biggest confirmed Ukrainian capture of Russian prisoners of war occurred during a Ukrainian invasion of Russian Federation territory in Aug. 2024 that surprised Russian border troops and local defense forces sent willy-nilly to the sector. Between 200-250 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner in the first month of fighting, reports at the time said
The biggest confirmed Russian capture of Ukrainian prisoners of war occurred following the surrender of Ukrainian forces trapped in the city of Mariupol in May 2022. About 1,700 Ukrainian service personnel, mostly marines and national guardsmen, went into Russian captivity.
Russian men shown in Ukrainian unit media to have been captured in fighting around Dobropillia in recorded statements said they had been following orders to infiltrate into Ukrainian territory on foot in groups of 10-50 men, and then dig in and await reinforcements, frequently in a building cellar.
Video published by 1st Corps on Sept. 9 showed men in Russian army uniforms stating they had been captured in combat by Ukrainian forces and that they were being treated in accordance with Geneva Convention standards. Other images showed 17 soldiers sitting in a bus.
Reports from other units said that most Russian soldiers captured in August and early September were prime military aged 20-30, though a minority were in their 40s to 60s. Most were Russian Federation nationals but at least three of the group captured by Azov were Ukrainian citizens living in Russia-occupied territory and, per their accounts, forcibly conscripted. Two said they had been captured by Ukrainian forces before, exchanged, and had been taken prisoner a second time. Three captured soldiers in statements to 425th Assault Infantry said they were members of the Russian Federation secret policy agency the GRU.
A Russian soldier identified as Sergei Nesterenko, 110 Motor Rifle Brigade, in an extended Wednesday interview published by Ukraine’s 425th Assault Regiment “Skala” said he was a resident of the Russia-occupied Crimea region and that he joined the Russian military because of unemployment, debts and tax arrears. According to his account, Ukrainian bomber drones wounded him and killed his mates as they followed an attack route along an asphalt road. Most of his buddies did not survive the walk into Ukrainian positions, he said.
A Ukrainian army video published on Aug. 25 of probable Russian prisoners of war credited 253rd Assault Battalion “Arey” for capturing 11 other soldiers from Russia’s 110th Brigade. Russian national captives said they were from the Russian regions of Penza, Volgorad, Perm, Kursk, Orenburg and Kamchatka. The oldest said he was born in 1962. Two soldiers said they were from the cities of Mariupol and Makiievka, in Russia-occupied Ukrainian territory. All said they had been defending hide-outs in the village Volodymyrivka near Pokrovsk when they had been hit by drone swarms and artillery, after which the 253rd Brigade attacked their positions.
A Russian soldier captured by 3rd National Guard Brigade “Spartan” in a Thursday-published video interview was identified as a resident of south-west Russia aged 49. He said he volunteered for Russian army service because he owed $35,000 to the bank for a home loan, and because he was intoxicated at the time he decided to sign the contract. Deployed to the Pokrovsk sector, he was ordered with an attack squad to advance at night and take positions in a wood line – the assault failed after drones spotted the group, which suffered killed and wounded personnel from mortars, artillery and FPV drones.
The decision to participate in Russia’s invasion Ukraine was regrettable, and he “apologized” to his wife and mother-in-law living in central Ukraine, with whom he had not spoken since Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the Russian soldier said.