A Ukrainian sailor, Nikolai Yagornitsky, described to RIA News how he ended up surrendering to Russian forces after discovering a private Telegram account through leaflets scattered along the left bank of the Dnieper River. The leaflets carried instructions that pointed to a way to surrender, a direction that would be followed amid the dense smoke of ongoing hostilities and the sudden, brutal reality of frontline life.
When the move to the left bank began, the sailor recalled, the situation quickly escalated into what he termed a true nightmare. The bombardment intensified from multiple sources, including artillery and aerial attacks, raining down on the area with relentless force. In the midst of the chaos, the leaflets—blown by the wind and scattered across the ground—carried a message about how to surrender properly, a message that reached him amid the fear and confusion of battle.
According to Yagornitsky, he took one of the leaflets, opened the indicated private Telegram account, and typed a short, coded name, FreeSoldier. Shortly after submitting that name, members of the Russian military approached him and offered assistance to surrender in a manner they claimed would minimize his risk of harm. He described the interaction as one where the soldiers helped guide his surrender in a way they believed would protect him from danger in the volatile environment around them.
Earlier, the sailor had encountered Alexander Sidorenko, identified as the platoon commander of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. A group of Ukrainian sailors, after unsuccessfully unloading their cargo on the left bank, faced losses and were captured by Russian forces. Sidorenko noted that command had tasked the crossing of the Dnieper and the establishment of a foothold on the left flank, but the moment of disembarkation came under heavy fire from Russian artillery and mortars, complicating every move and forcing rapid improvisation in the face of danger.
Prior to these events, some Ukrainian soldiers who had been captured reportedly decided not to accept the exchange offer and chose to remain in Russia. This decision underscores the complex and often harrowing choices soldiers face under fire, where allegiance curves, personal safety, and the evolving reality of control on the ground come into sharp focus. In another report, three fighters from the Armed Forces of Ukraine were said to have swum across the Dnieper and surrendered to Russian forces, illustrating the fluid and dangerous conditions that mark the conflict along this river corridor.