Now, 28 border guards and 25 soldiers are in the camp near the Russian town of Gukovo. All of them are officers and some NCOs who are on hunger strike and waiting for help from their country. They flatly refuse from propositions to obtain Russian citizenship.
They ended up there three days ago, August 4, during the battle, – the soldiers told reporters of the "Zaholovok" site. The situation was complicated, because the soldiers had no ammunition left, while they were attacked by 2 tanks and armored infantry vehicles. They could not resist them, because they had no weapons against tanks or armored vehicles. The soldiers were forced to retreat, but while doing so they entered the territory of the Russian Federation.
Before that, during a month, the group had been in the checkpoint Krasnopartizansk. During that time, they received no water, no food, no gasoline, no ammunition. Instead, every day they heard orders to hold on as long as they could. The soldiers somehow held out for a month, but in the end what happened happened.
While being on Gukovo, 5 people last night were handcuffed and taken further in Russia under charges that they allegedly killed civilians.
It is very hard for soldiers in this tense situation, because they do not understand what is going on and do not know if the management is doing something about their situation or not. They say that they conscientiously obeyed orders, and now they are left to fend for themselves. Moreover, some people call the soldiers traitors. Deserters. But they categorically deny these allegations. They say, they did not run away, but retreated during the battle. They went to Gukovo with the help of the representatives of the OSCE to save lives.
And despite rumors that soldiers asked asylum in Russia, they say they are true patriots and demand to help them to return to Ukraine. No one would refuse from it.
So, for now serviceman of the 7th infantry mechanized group are protesting by hunger strike and waiting for help.
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