The Ukrainian military said it has captured more than 250 Russian soldiers during an offensive operation codenamed Operation Vivaldi as fighting continues between Ukraine and Russia in the region.
According to reports, the operation involved dropping of robots behind enemy positions and “Trojan” armored personnel carriers rigged with explosives on the Lyman axis.
In a video posted by Ukraine’s Third Army Corps on Thursday, dozens of supposedly captured soldiers were seen walking through a forest in single file, forming a long human chain.
The men had their heads down as they were being guarded by Ukrainian forces, who made them undergo an improvised roll call.
“Captivity is the best thing that could have happened to you,” Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi, commander of Ukraine’s Center Group of Forces, was quoted by U24 Media as saying.
Reports noted that due to Operation Vivaldi, Ukraine’s military has been gradually taking back small portions of territories controlled by Russia in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas.
Ukraine has been under upscaled Russian aerial attacks in recent weeks but the latest success recorded by the Ukrainian military signified a gradual offensive comeback for the government in Kyiv.