Russian Lt. Col. Astakhov Dmitry Mikhailovich (Video screenshot)
A Russian military official who has been captured in Ukraine has appeared in a video explaining that soldiers were told – when they were assigned to invade their neighbor – that Nazis had taken over the regime and their job was to root out the evil influence.
But, he says, he now knows better
The video, featuring Lt. Colo. Astakhov Dmitry Mikhailovich, is here:
This, out of #Ukraine, is 100% one of the most incredible videos I have ever seen.
This Russian POW has the heart of a lion
pic.twitter.com/KIx1rsN0CZ
— Jackie Singh
(@hackingbutlegal) March 6, 2022
He explained soldiers told by their superiors to attack Ukraine had been informed "Ukraine was a fascist regime and they had to fix that."
He said they were told "Nazis" as seized power, and the aim of the Russia aggression was to "get rid of [that] regime."
Now, he said, "I feel shame that we came to this country. We knew very little. We were too little in our thoughts."
What it actually is, he said, is "genocide. … the people are just killed."
Fox News reported Mikhailovich was with "two badly bruised men" as he explained what he and other had been led to believe.
He said he would go to jail or do "whatever we deserve."
"We’re ready for everything," he said.
Whether there was Ukrainian pressure for him to make the statements could not be ascertained, but Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Chair of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, said the use of prisoners' images and statements could be seen as a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
He explained, in an online column, "It is not clear who is in possession or took the videotapes of these POWs. Many citizens are joining the front lines in this fight. However, as difficult as it is in this fluid battlefield, Ukraine is under an obligation to seek adherence to the conventions."
He pointed out that if one side is allowed to violate the rules, then the "Russians will claim the same exceptional statues in their treatment of Ukrainian POWs."
The United Nations says hundreds of civilians in Ukraine already have been killed, and the number of fatalities among the military ranks was unclear.
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