According to Russian media on November 16, the Russian side has released a testimony from a Ukrainian prisoner of war, who is from the 42nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Army. He said that officers push people into the abyss without thinking. They come and go as they please. "He told me, there's no choice in our lives! If there is a choice in life, the best option is to surrender."

Therefore, after the Russian forces entered the trenches, this person immediately surrendered.

Currently, Red Army City has been surrounded for days, with supplies cut off, insufficient ammunition, damaged communication equipment, and the troops have been enduring for a long time without support, evacuation, or supplies.

Losses are increasing, and corpses lying by the shelters have never been transported away, and the battlefield is full of injured soldiers who are not being treated.

The officer's words indicate that the morale of the front line has reached its lowest point, and the command system is also in a semi-paralyzed state.

The situation in Red Army City not only made the Ukrainian army lose its mobility but also made internal conversations become more open. Soldiers clearly know their situation and can't break through, they are just waiting to die, and surrender becomes the only opportunity.

Ukrainian Army

This prisoner described in the video his first day arriving at Red Army City, where he saw many bodies of Ukrainian soldiers outside the position, and no one had time to deal with these corpses. The wounded could only be bandaged simply by those around them. There were no ambulances, no transport vehicles, and whoever was seriously injured would just stay there and wait.

A few days after he surrendered, when people from his platoon saw him, they also chose to surrender.

He said that the Ukrainian authorities are spreading rumors. They lie about everything - saying that the Russians will kill immediately, execute immediately. But I saw with my own eyes that the Russians are normal people! They were very humane to me. I asked them for water, and they gave it to me. I asked them for a cigarette, and they gave it to me too.

Ukrainian Army

From the description of this prisoner, the situation in Red Army City is indeed very desperate for the Ukrainians.

The officer said that the only chance is to surrender, which seems to still have some sense, but at the same time, he is unconsciously pushing people to the front line.

This state is a direct manifestation of despair; the officers can no longer tell what they are doing, whether they are carrying out orders or becoming parts of the meat grinder, mindlessly operating?

Red Army City is considered a city that must be held by the Ukrainian authorities. The leadership has repeatedly issued orders prohibiting the withdrawal of troops, requiring them to find ways to break out, even to push back.

These orders are completely detached from the reality on the front line. The command chain on the front line has broken down, departments cannot contact each other, and many units do not even know that neighboring units have withdrawn or been compressed into smaller areas.

Logistics is also a big problem. The roads around Red Army City are blocked by Russian fire, making it impossible for supply trucks to enter, and even nighttime covert transportation cannot be completed.

The order from the top not to retreat has put the grassroots in a dead end. Soldiers know that once they are surrounded, they cannot escape with external help, but the leadership still emphasizes in the media that the situation is serious, but it hasn't been lost.

This gap between propaganda and actual conditions causes a strong sense of disparity in the minds of frontline soldiers.

What they waited for was not reinforcements nor an evacuation order, but Russian ammunition.

Ukrainian Army Chief

Under these conditions, the officer telling subordinates that there is no choice is actually telling the soldiers that there will be no rescue from above, and whether they can live or not depends on whether they can seize the opportunity.

This situation is already very common in Ukraine, where surrender has become the best option, especially for newly conscripted soldiers. You can't get any decent equipment and training, and you are afraid of war. It's impossible to survive with high military skills, so in the end, the only way to live is to surrender.

But surrender isn't something anyone can do. You need an opportunity to raise your hands to the Russians.

So, when surrender becomes a luxury, when surviving depends on fate, and when officers start giving their subordinates the last advice to seize the opportunity, this battle has no meaning anymore.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7573544874125967878/

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