Russian troops come under fire in failed Donbas attack

Russia fired on its own troops after they surrendered in a failed attack in the Donbass region, Kiev said.

The 33rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, part of Ukraine’s ground forces, said Saturday evening that seven Russian fighters were trying to surrender to Ukrainian captivity when they came under fire from their own army.

Their unit had attempted to conduct an operation near the village of Kostiantynivka but suffered heavy casualties when Kiev used first-person view (FPV) drones, the Ukrainian Military Center said in an update on Sunday.

The group reportedly emerged from a forest belt with their hands raised to follow a drone that led them to the Ukrainian military station before coming under fire.

The 33rd Brigade said that the Russian soldiers “made the right decision to surrender” before the Russian army “fired on its own troops.”

“Some of them were accurately mowed down,” it continued. “Not all of them ended up in the good hands of our brigade.”

It is unclear exactly how many died and how many managed to surrender.

Newsweek The Russian Defense Ministry emailed for comment.

Vladimir Putin’s newly formed Volunteer Special Forces reportedly opened fire on Russian troops in the area earlier this month to “maintain law and order” in the Kursk region amid an ongoing Ukrainian incursion.

Alexei Smirnov, acting head of Kursk, announced on August 29 the creation of an armed volunteer unit called “BARS-Kursk,” saying it would “ensure security in the region.”

In August, a Russian unit bragged on social media about a successful drone strike, only to later discover that it had accidentally shot down one of its own unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The unit had used a DJI Mavic drone to shoot down what it initially believed was a Ukrainian UAV in Avdiivka. However, the target was actually a Zala ISR drone belonging to the Russian military.

In the first quarter of this year, the British Ministry of Defense released an intelligence update that revealed that a Russian Su-27 aircraft shot down over Crimea on March 28 may have been the victim of friendly fire caused by a “lack of situational awareness.” was caused and coordination.”

It said there were “previously unconfirmed reports of similar incidents of friendly fire, mostly following Ukrainian actions against Russian forces.” Consequently, “[t]There is a realistic possibility here that this is not a technical problem, but rather that the increased pressure and tension among Russian air defense operators, caused by fear of further Ukrainian action, is causing them to inadvertently attack their own pilots and aircraft .”

It concluded: “This and other events, if confirmed, likely highlight the lack of situational awareness and coordination between elements of the Russian armed forces while highlighting the secondary impact of Ukrainian actions.”