VIDEO | Entire platoon gone, lone Russian soldier 'pleads and surrenders' before Ukrainian drone

"War has no winners" is an adage that has been espoused since time immemorial to describe the futility of it. One saw it unfold on camera when a Russian soldier, left alone on the battlefield after his whole unit was decimated, pleaded desperately to the Ukrainian side or in this case, a drone, to spare him.

30-year-old Ruslan Anitin was one of the sole survivors after his platoon, stationed near the eastern city of Bakhmut was killed by Ukrainian drone and mortar attacks recently.

The drone footage has now emerged, showing Anitin haphazardly standing up without his rifle and gesturing towards the drone and asking pilots to spare his life if he surrendered.

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“I thought I would end up staying in that trench forever,” Anitin was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.

The Ukrainian drone pilots were suspicious initially, fearing it was another trap by the Russian soldiers. However, after monitoring Anitin's body language, they started conversing by moving the drone up and down for yes, left and right for no.

I felt sorry for him: Ukrainian drone operator

An assault drone was nearby to complete the kill but the drone's pilot, whose call sign is Boxer, decided to spare the life of his enemy.

"Despite that he is an enemy, even though he has killed our boys, I still felt sorry for him,” said Boxer.

Boxer used a Sharpie marker to write in Russian on the packaging of his food rations: “Surrender follow the drone" and dropped it in front of the soldier. Anitin quickly jumped, grabbed the paper and started following the instructions.

Once Anitin agreed, he was guided for over an hour through the trenches with discarded grenades, rifles and lifeless bodies of Russian soldiers lying in them. During the trek, he came perilously close to a couple of grenade blasts, allegedly conducted by his own side.

(Disclaimer: Video may be distressing for some. Please proceed at your own caution)

Eventually, Anitin managed to reach across the enemy lines. Before entering the Ukrainian trench, Anitin raised his hands above his head and removed the helmet and flak jacket. He was later pinned to the ground by the Ukrainian soldiers who loaded him into a truck.

The Russian was later sent to the Kharkiv region while the Ukraine side captured the trench where Anitin had been stationed, a week later.

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Anitin, who was drafted into the Army after the war began and did not even say goodbye to his three-year-old daughter, still wanted to return home, even if it meant being put behind bars for being a deserter.

“Let them lock me up,” he said. “I’d like to return home to my family, and never experience the sorts of things that I have seen here.”

(Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video or the claims made in the news article)

(With inputs from agencies)

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