MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Foreign mercenaries in border areas of Russia's Kursk Region prevent servicemen of the Ukrainian military from retreating by firing at those who make such attempts, Nazar Valechenko, a captured Ukrainian soldier, who surrendered to Russian forces there, said.

"Foreigners - a British man - stated that there was no point in going back because they would shoot us. We surrendered because there was no point - some of the guys were no longer responding, they were clearly already gone. Going back was not an option, mercenaries were shooting our men down there. We decided to surrender, since the situation was desperate. We have been treated well in captivity, no one beat us, we were fed and received [medical] assistance," the prisoner of war (POW) said in a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to the POW, he had initially paid five thousand dollars to stay in the rear and guard a factory in the Poltava Region, which was later destroyed by Russian troops. Afterwards, he was sent to the Sumy Region and then to a border area of the Kursk Region.