MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. Vladimir Petrenko, a Ukrainian soldier captured during the offensive in Russia's Kursk Region, stated that his unit requested evacuation, but the command denied it.

"The objective was to advance to Kursk. We were hit on our way. The senior officer communicated [to the command] that we needed to retreat. They responded, 'no, no retreating, go to your position and hold it.' By the time we reached the position, half of our unit was gone. We told them that we needed to be evacuated. No one came for us, no one evacuated us. We were left at that position and told to ‘stay there and wait,’" the captive recounted in a video shared by the Russian Defense Ministry.

He added that he is being treated well in captivity, receiving medical assistance, among other things.