DONETSK, November 8. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops set up ambushes disguising themselves as Russian forces by drawing the Z symbol on their vehicles and equipment, a member of the Donetsk People's Republic’s militia, Vyacheslav Salakhadinov, released from Ukrainian captivity, told TASS on Tuesday.
"I was called up for military service on February 23 from my workplace. I was taken prisoner on August 20. The task of our APC was to pick up the first crew from their positions. We didn’t get there. Our vehicle was hit. My commander was killed instantly. I got out of the burning vehicle. I was shellshocked and suffered a shrapnel wound in the head. It all happened in Novosyolovka near Avdeyevka. For two days I crawled towards our positions. Finally, I saw an armored vehicle marked with letter Z. It turned out to be a Ukrainian ambush. There was a Ukrainian wearing a DPR uniform," the Salakhadinov said.
He was taken for questioning to a private home in Avdeyevka occupied by Ukrainian troops for interrogation.
"They were asking questions about our positions, our men, and our equipment. I replied that I didn’t know anything. They started kicking me in the head, targeting the fragments’ injured spots," the exchanged POW said.
On November 3, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters that there had been an exchange of 107 prisoners of war on both sides. Among the released there were 15 DPR militiamen, including 3 in serious condition.