Ukraine re-captures Russian troops who were traded just last month (video)
Prisoners of war (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Russian soldiers who were returned to Russia just a month ago as part of a prisoner exchange have once again been captured by Ukrainian defense forces, according to the Telegram channel Khokhu Zhyt.
Among the newly captured are some familiar faces.
One of them is Saktaagai Shagaa, a contract soldier from Russia’s Tuva Republic, who only lasted a month on the battlefield. In January, he was wounded during a brutal assault on Vovchansk and surrendered to Ukrainian forces. After a prisoner swap on June 20, Shagaa was sent back to Russia still injured - but instead of receiving treatment, he was subjected to two weeks of interrogations and then redeployed to the front, once again near Vovchansk.
The second captured soldier is Dmitry Ivanov, another contract serviceman who also took part in the assault on Vovchansk. He was previously wounded in the legs and arms and was captured in 2024. However, he was returned to Russia in a prisoner exchange earlier this year. Despite his injuries, the Russian command once again sent him to the front lines, where he was captured again by Ukrainian forces.
According to the project's authors, the cases of Ivanov and Shagaa are far from isolated:
"Last month, we published a list of Russians who were also sent back to the front after being exchanged - and they died. This is standard practice in the Russian army."
Earlier, relatives of Russian prisoners contacted the project to send them care packages, but now mothers are begging not to return their sons to Russia until the fighting ends — because death awaits them at home.
Russia is using mercenaries from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and several African countries in battles against Ukrainian defenders in the Vovchansk direction.
And on April 8, Ukrainian forces managed to capture two Chinese nationals who were fighting on Russia’s side in the Donetsk region.
