"I can only say thank you for saving my life," - a captured Russian conscript who blew himself up with a grenade in order not to surrender has confirmed that in Russia, soldiers are programmed to commit suicide, being told about the long and painful torture in captivity.

Fyodor, a conscript from St. Petersburg, told a UNIAN journalist how he blew himself up together with a comrade when the Armed Forces of Ukraine approached his position in Russia's Kursk region.

"I took out a grenade. He [his comrade] said, "Let's do it." We hugged each other, threw it on the ground and said some last warm words to each other. The comrade also has a leg wound. At that point, I had already realized three times that I was closer to death. We were afraid to surrender, we didn't know what would happen here. We were afraid that there would be long and painful torture. But considering how it is in reality now, I can only say thank you for saving my life and curing me," he said.

According to Fyodor, he was given first aid by the Ukrainian military. They shared water and cigarettes with the prisoners and brought medicine to the wounded from other dugouts.

📹: Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News

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[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 120 points 3 months ago (2 children)

With how awful this war is, it’s nice to see common human decency and gratitude on display for a change.

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 99 points 3 months ago (2 children)

The reason Russian soldiers behave as they do is they're conditioned to believe its totally normal military behavior. "If we don't do it that's what will happen to us," is what they're brought to believe. The Russian Federation is a pure terrorist state. The people of Russia need big daddy Putin to keep them safe from all the manufactured fears that big daddy Putin is feeding them. I was reading this morning about how Ukraine is currently having a bit of a public health emergency because there aren't enough therapists to help Russian POW's navigate the social whiplash they're experience from not being tortured. They were promised that nothing could be worse than a Ukrainian POW camp and they're finding it to be more pleasant than standing guard over Russian land. Like... These are people who have been so traumatized for so long that kindness is its own form of trauma. It recontextualizes all of their prior experiences and its a lot to take in.

[–] dactylotheca@suppo.fi 37 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They think they'll be tortured because that's what they do to others.

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 26 points 3 months ago

It's a mental oroboros of torture. And being broken out of that loop does some weird shit to your brain

[–] djsoren19@yiffit.net 26 points 3 months ago

It's really only the Russian military who has been awful, and it's almost tragic how much Putin and Russia's military doctrine have destroyed these kids' minds. They turned children into monsters, then justifed their actions by claiming the enemy is just as monstrous. Meanwhile, all of us outside Russia can't even imagine why a conscript wouldn't want to surrender to the Ukrainians, who have consistently shown themselves to be excellent people who are willing to care for these conscripts even despite some of the things they've done.