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06.02.25 19:42 7 075 5

Stories of two Russian POWs who ended up at "zero line"

Two of the eight Russian occupiers from the 74th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade (SMRB) of the Russian Armed Forces, who were captured in the Pokrovsk direction by 50-year-old assault troops from the 425th Separate Assault Regiment (SAR) ’SKALA,’ (ROCK) share their stories of how they ended up at the "zero line".

Semen Khomutnikov from the Irkutsk region has six children and was sent to Ukraine through the "detention center". He recounts how, during training, a fighter with the call sign Yakor (Anchor) shot himself in front of him, while another fighter, call sigh Tsoi, hanged himself. Andrei Opryshkin from Tomsk attempted to avoid participating in combat by inflicting a wound on his own arm, but at the evacuation point in Avdiivka, traces of gunpowder residue gave him away, making the self-inflicted injury obvious. He was held in a pit for nearly a month, enduring the cold with a bucket as a toilet and only one meal a day before being thrown back into combat.

Please introduce yourself, what is your name?

Khomutnikov: Khomutnikov Semen Vladimirovich, who resided in Vorobyevo village, Zhigalovo district, Irkutsk region, before serving in the military under contract. Сommon-law marriage, six children.

So why did you go to war?

There was an incident involving illegal immigrants. They raped a minor girl. I decided to stand up for that girl—I have six children myself. That’s all. So we went there. But by then, those illegal immigrants had already been relocated to a neighboring village. We smashed windows at their construction site. It turned out that the site was linked to Putin’s projects. And apparently, we halted work for a day. This also happened right before the elections. Then they started arresting us with Special Police Forces —taking two or three people each day, as many as they could. That was it. They threatened us with five years in prison.

Did anyone else who was involved in clashes with ethnic criminal groups in Zhigalovo, Irkutsk region, also go to war, to the front?

Yes.

Are they the same people who were prosecuted in the same criminal case as you?

Yes, it’s a criminal case, a suspended sentence. It hasn’t been closed yet—it’s an old case. And the investigation is still ongoing.

I see. How much money did you receive?

I received 800 thousand. And a salary of 39.

What was your salary in the Irkutsk region?

About 60. I worked in the air force, as a smokejumper.

How long did you serve in this fire brigade as a smokejumper?

About 14 years old.

An experienced person. How many parachute jumps have you made?

200 jumps.

Opryshkin: Common Soldier Opryshkin Andrei Andreievich .12.11.95.

Where are you from?

Tomsk, the town of Kolpashevo. Before that, I had never served in the military. I served a prison sentence. I was released in 2018—under restrictions and supervision. The supervision period was supposed to end in July of this year (2024). I signed a contract because I didn’t want to end up back in prison.

What military unit do you serve in? What is your rank and position?

Khomutnikov: The 74th Brigade. First Battalion, second company, common soldier.

You were appointed as a squad leader, do I get it right?

Yes.

Commander of an assault section. How many soldiers were in your section?

Six.

Six soldiers?

Six soldiers.

And you? Plus me at the end. Wake up at 6:00 a.m.—chop-chop. Everything on the move, everything at a fast pace, all the way to the training ground. We went to the training ground once a week. Some couldn’t handle it, especially among the older guys. Some ended up hanging themselves, some shot themselves.

Did your comrades shot themselves? Did you see it?

Yes.

Yourself, personally, with your own eyes—not just hearsay?

Yes.

How did it happen, who shot himself?

Apparently, they couldn’t meet the standards. The physical and mental strain was too much. And some of them were even commanders...

And who shot himself, who was he, what kind of person was he?

His call sign was Yakor but I don’t remember his surname, first name, or patronymic. He was already an older man, quite advanced in years.

How did people react to this? Yakor as you said, shot himself.

Yakor shot himself, another Tsoi was there, he hanged himself.

Did Tsoi hang himself?

Yes. And one escaped.

Yeah. Tsoi hanged himself, it's just... Sounds tragic. And one escaped?

One escaped.

One escaped. Why do people hang themselves, shoot themselves, but not run away? I thought it was more logical to run away. All of them.

Well, again—where to? Every time they keep saying that if you try to run, they’ll find you and send you back anyway. Only this time, you’ll be the first… You’ll be the first one there. In short, there’s no way out.

Did you shoot yourself?

Opryshkin: Yes, it was terrifying. F#cking terrifying. Because… I don’t know what hit near me, but it threw me back. I was just in a panic. I shot myself in the arm and reported it over the walkie-talkie. I made it to the guys from… 11-95. Mobilized reinforcement troops. Later, they explained that we were helping another battalion complete its new objective. They just sent us in like cannon fodder… Our company was wiped out in a day. No one made it to the final point.

In a day?

Per day.

How many people were in the company?

There were three platoons, about 20-plus men each. In total, roughly 60-70 people. We were wiped out… We started moving at 8 a.m. By 2 or 4 p.m.…

You say no one made it. What were the company's casualties?

If around ten men made it out—somehow—they made it. Naturally, there were those who "desertered." "Deserter" means those who are backpedaling, trying to hide in a village. Some hid in the village.

Was it Rama who commanded?

Knyaz was in command, but he was on leave. In his absence, the commander of the 3rd company took over. Call sign: Problesk (Spurt).

Where did you shoot yourself?

In the arm, in the bicep. They brought me to Avdiivka. The self-inflicted wound was obvious—traces of gunpowder residue were present. They kept me in a pit for almost a month. Except for three weeks. 21 days.

Did you receive medical care?

They just smeared it with brilliant green.

And then they threw you into a pit? Can you describe it?

The pit was about four meters deep. Four to five meters deep. Roughly a quarter of the size of this room.

Is it just in the ground?

Yes.

The month of October was already cold.

Yes. They gave me some clothes to keep warm. A sleeping bag. In fact they dropped it later. After three days. When I started coughing, I almost got pneumonia

Is the toilet in the pit?

In the bucket.

Did they feed you there?

Once a day.

Who put you in the pit?

Latysh.

Who is the Latysh?

The company’s morale office.

For disciplinary measures? Is this common? Does the company have its own pit for punishing violators?

Almost every company has a place where offenders are put. We have a pit.

It's amazing.

We have a pit. Opposite, in the first company's treeline, there was just a banner on a tree, and they handcuffed soldiers to it.

So, do they punish soldiers in every company?

In every company. Excuse my bluntness. They punish in different ways, as they see fit.

So discipline is strictly enforced there?

Yes.

But what about refusing to follow orders? How do they make a soldier advance and fight?

Khomutnikov: That’s what the morale office told us. If, God forbid, someone tries to escape or desert… I have six children too. Honestly, I just don’t want to do this anymore.

But did you tell him you had six children? Did your commanders know that you had six young children? And yet they still put you in the assault and threw you forward immediately?

Yes. They sent us in first right away.

And how did they react to this?

None whatsoever. Not at all. I think we mean nothing to them. I realized that right after the first mission. To them, we’re just, you could say, like trash—something they kick aside without even looking. Even if you get killed, they won’t even remember you existed. That’s what stuck with me.

But did it ever cross your mind that you could just say, "No, I’m not going," let them put you in prison, call a lawyer, appeal to higher command, file a report, say something...?

Right away, Rama—the chief of staff’s call sign—shows up, and immediately, almost to the point of an execution, starts threatening: "I’ll slam you, I won’t slam you." He even sends guys into battle like this—puts a finger to his head as if to say, "God help you if you do not fulfill an order."

What does it mean to put a finger?

Just like that—puts a finger to head, a silent threat, "God help you if you mess up."

Was this in front of everyone? How do these so-called disciplinary measures happen? How do commanders enforce discipline?

This was right before a mission.

Before you deployed?

Yes.

So, did he come up to you directly?

No, he stood right in the formation, almost stormed in, shouting: "God help anyone who screws up or does something wrong. I’ll personally make sure you’re wiped out."

It was in your group that he was shouting that, right?

Yes. Yes, at everyone in the group. Yesterday, it was the same over the walkie-talkie—"You have 20 minutes. If you don’t get it done, God help you, I’ll shoot you."

How many soldiers are thrown into these pits, handcuffed, and punished?

Opryshkin: Those who get caught, say, for drinking binge —happens often—usually spend 2-3 days in there.

How long did you spend in such a pit?

Almost a month.

A month?

Almost a month.

Then why didn’t you try to escape from the army after that? That’s just torture.

Where would I go? You just watch.

They treated you like an animal.

You just stand there and watch as others try to run.

So what?

They get caught—doesn’t matter where, even at the border—they always get caught. They bring them back. I don’t know how exactly, but they almost beat them to death, to put it bluntly. Then they throw him into a pit, and that’s it. And later, he just disappears at the base. When we deploy to Avdiivka together, you notice he`s gone. You don't see, you don't observe. Anyone who tries to run will be caught again, dragged back, and there’s no way out.

Who enforces discipline like that?

Directly—I’ve heard it many times from the chief of staff, from Rama.

That’s Rama’s way of keeping soldiers in line? This 24-year-old guy?

He might be 25 now, but he was 24.

What's his name, do you know his name?

Yakovlev Alexey Alekseevich.

Alexey Alekseevich Yakovlev. Rama.

Yes.

What is his rank?

Senior lieutenant, I think. Yes, a senior lieutenant

And this Aleksey Yakovlev, did he mock and torture all the soldiers like that?

Yeah, he doesn't care. He's a platoon leader, not a commander.

How were you released from that pit? It was just unbelievable torture.

A reinforcement group arrived—men aged 50+, 40+, 50+. They were released under the pretext that I knew what I was doing, so at least I could brief them somehow.

How many from your previous assault company survived?

Only a few. Only a few. Just a handful. I can count them on my fingers—eight, maybe ten people.

How did the command of the 1st Battalion, 74th Brigade, support your operations? What were your objectives? What did you hear over the radio? What were the commanders saying?

Khomutnikov: The only thing the commanders kept saying was, "Move forward. Forward."

And when you requested fire support, reconnaissance—did you ask them for intel on what was ahead?

Yes.

Did you have drones? Did they provide any reconnaissance data?

It happened once. Just once. But no one responded on the radio.

When we reached the edge of the village, there was a heavy firefight. I still don’t know exactly what was happening. I radioed Knyaz and told him I needed a drone to scout ahead and see what was going on. That was it—Knyaz never responded. Some time later, Rama came on the radio and said, "You have 20 minutes, or you’re ***" That was it, then they cut comset. Shustryi, Kot, and I ran in another direction.

You entered your assigned position—the dugout, the objective.

Yeah. Then we heard a few shots, and that was it. After that, we were ordered, "Come out, come out." That was it.

That fast? That simple? But you were armed. You had a whole squad. How many of you were in the dugout?

Eight people.

Did you put up any resistance?

No.

Did you fire back?

No, we didn’t.

Did you personally fire your weapon?

I didn’t fire.

Who was shooting and throwing grenades?

The grenades were being thrown at us.