Footage shared online from the battlefront in Luhansk has shown the moment approximately 14 Russian soldiers surrendered to Ukraine. The mass surrender of Russian servicemen is a devastating blow to Vladimir Putin as he pours more resources into the fight for eastern Ukraine. The video, which was posted on Telegram, showed the troops on the ground after having given up their weapons.
The Luhansk region of Ukraine has become a focal point in recent weeks.
Earlier today, the governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region Serhiy Gaidai told national TV that Russia was sending a large number of reserve troops to Sievierodonetsk from other battle zones.
Mr Gaidai said President Putin was trying everything to gain full control of the besieged eastern city.
He said: “Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, they will throw in all the reserves they have, because there are so many of them there already, they’re at critical mass.”
JUST IN: Putin’s troops sustain such serious losses they can’t attack
Ukraine has urgently demanded more military aid in the fight for Luhansk and other eastern regions.
The besieged city of Sievierodonetsk has faced near-constant heavy artillery and rocket fire again as Russian forces attacked areas around it this weekend.
The country’s military’s general staff acknowledged on Sunday that its forces had suffered a setback just southeast of Sievierodonetsk.
On Sky News earlier today, Ukrainian MP Ivanna Klympush-Tsintzadze also admitted that Ukraine’s fight in the east was looking bleak unless more weapons were sent urgently.
On Saturday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited soldiers on the southern frontline in the Mykolaiv region on a rare trip outside of Kyiv.
He told followers on Telegram: “I talked to our defenders – the military, the police, the national guard. Their mood is assured: they all do not doubt our victory.
“We will not give the south to anyone, and all that is ours we will take back.”
Writing in the Sunday Times today, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Western allies to prepare for the long haul in Ukraine, as Russian forces intensified their attacks.