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This is the amazing moment when a group of Russian soldiers flying a white flag from the tower of their tank surrenders in Ukraine.
Amazing footage, filmed in Kherson, southern Ukraine, shows a Russian BMP-2 pulling away from behind a series of trees and stopping in front of Ukrainian troops before three crew members disembark with hands raised.
The Ukrainians then move in, strip the soldiers of their weapons and take them as prisoners of war in what appears to be a prearranged operation.
Footage emerged after Ukraine’s military intelligence said more than 2,000 Russian soldiers called a hotline asking how to give themselves up rather than risk being killed on the battlefield.
Amazing footage has revealed the crew of a Russian BMP-2 combat vehicle surrendering to Ukrainian forces in the south of the country
Video captures the Russians pulling away from behind a series of trees with a white flag strapped to their turret before stepping out of the vehicle with their hands raised
Military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said there had been calls from troops in Ukraine, those recently conscripted into Russia and some who had not yet been drafted but were afraid to be given the command.
It also comes amid Ukrainian counter-attacks, both in Kherson, in the south, and near Kharkov, in the north, which inflicted heavy casualties on Russia and returned parts of the territory to Kiev.
Ukrainian forces have been attacking Kherson for more than two months, but made slow progress until recently.
In recent days, however, the Russian front line has collapsed dramatically – allowing the Kiev men to run more than 16 kilometers in just a few hours.
President Zelensky has said “dozens” of villages have been liberated in the operation, which aims to retake the city of Kherson itself.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops hundreds of miles further north have also liberated thousands of square miles of territory near the city of Kharkov.
Almost the entire Kharkiv region is back under their control, and units are now penetrating into the neighboring provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukrainian soldiers come in to strip the Russians of their weapons and take them as prisoners of war in what appears to be an operation organized in advance
Surrender video emerged as Ukraine said more than 2,000 Russian troops have called a hotline where they can arrange to surrender themselves to Kiev’s armed forces
The footage was shot in Kherson, where Ukrainian troops have made rapid progress in recent days after months of hard fighting
The town of Lyman, a major transportation hub, fell over the weekend and troops have been mopping up in small villages along the nearby Oskil River in recent days.
Ukraine now seems poised for a push deeper into the Luhansk province – which Russia almost completely controls – with the cities of Svatove and Kreminna in its sights.
The two-pronged offensives mean Putin is now losing ground in three of the four oblasts he annexed last week, claiming to be “forever” Russian.
Dmitry Peskov, his spokesman, vowed yesterday that Russian troops would recapture all lost ground and that the regions would “never be returned” to Ukraine.
Putin himself said he expects the situation on the front lines to “stabilise”, probably in reference to the 300,000 men he recently conscripted into the military.
While some of those men have already been thrown onto the front lines, most are not expected to arrive for a few weeks, and the situation on the ground is expected to remain fluid for some time to come.
Putin announced last week that four regions of Ukraine were being annexed to Russia, but he is currently losing ground in three of them – Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk
Putin’s land grabs and conscription have been accompanied by nuclear threats against both Ukraine and the West as he tries to hold on to the gains made by his besieged army in more than seven months of fighting.
But experts and observers doubt he will be able to do so, as anonymous US officials informed yesterday that retaking Crimea – Russia’s most heavily fortified region in Ukraine – is now a realistic possibility for the Kiev men.
The peninsula is effectively one large Russian military base, home to the Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol and two airfields, along with many smaller troop bases and ammunition depots.
But a senior US officer told The Telegraph that Russia’s faltering war effort could mean that “Ukraine’s recapture of Crimea is now a clear possibility and can no longer be ruled out.”
The official added: “It is clear that Russia no longer has the ability or willpower to defend key positions, and if the Ukrainians succeed in retaking Kherson, then there is a very real possibility that it will eventually be able to to recapture Crimea.’
Russia suffers heavy losses as it tries to keep territory it won in seven months of war, while Ukraine retakes territory in the north and south (pictured, a destroyed tank in the north)
The remains of a Russian column that attempted to escape from the city of Lyman despite being surrounded by Ukrainian troops, and was destroyed