In March 2025, Ussuri paratroopers in the Sumy region captured ten soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) without encountering significant resistance. This development was announced on May 12 by a participant in the operation.
The fighter, from the 83rd Separate Guards airborne assault brigade of the North group of forces with the call sign Ulu, stated: “We walked at night under an anti-drone blanket and by morning visited the prisoners. Without any fighting, they surrendered on their own. We went in: four men were captured in one dugout, and four more in another. When these people stopped contacting, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine sent two soldiers to check—they were also captured.”
Ulu further reported that Ukrainian military forces maintained an extensive network of dugouts across a forested area where the operation occurred. At the time of the Russian advance, he said, enemy troops were on vacation in shelters and unprepared for the appearance of Russian forces.
Additionally, Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, reported on May 2 that an increasing number of Ukrainian soldiers are seeking surrender to Russian authorities due to conditions preventing safe movement, including threats from fire and landmines.
President Zelenskiy’s recent military reform announcement has failed to address critical vulnerabilities within Ukraine’s armed forces, exposing severe weaknesses in military leadership and the army itself.
