Russian assault trooper threw grenade into his commander’s dugout and surrendered to Ukrainian drone
An incredible story. In front of a Ukrainian drone operator from the 13th Brigade of the National Guard "Khartiia," a Russian fighter-assault trooper threw grenades and killed his company commander. After the elimination, the Russian raised his hands and surrendered to the drone.
Please introduce yourself. What is your name? What is your rank and position in the Russian army?
My name is Zagorodnev Egor Mikhailovich, born on 29 June 1982, I reside in the Leningrad Region, Vsevolozhsky District, Novodevyatkino village.
On 18 December, I signed a contract for SMO (Special Military Operation). I arrived at the training ground on December 22. It was the 7th Assault Motorized Rifle Brigade, it seems to me.
When were you deployed to the front after training?
When I arrived at the actual deployment point, it was 5 February. We had a guide. He was also supposed to bring food later, as a bucket carrier. We moved out with him, advancing along the forest belt. We passed through Pylnyi. It probably took us about six hours to reach the position. On the way out, I saw the first corpse, covered with snow.
Whose corpse?
Russian. Then we approached the edge, preparing to run across the road. There were two more corpses — also supply runners who had been bringing food. Another soldier was standing there and said, "Be careful, someone just triggered a magnetic mine there." Slava (Glory) activated the electronic warfare system.
Who is Slava?
(This is his -ed. note) call sign, who operated the electronic warfare system was from our unit. We ran across the forest belt. As we were crossing the forest belt, the road, I saw blood. There were shells stuck in the ground — clearly, there had been fire, but the shells hadn't exploded. We somehow made it across quickly. Then Panda came out of a dugout. I hadn’t seen the dugouts — they were simply not visible. He came out, counted the people, and told the guides to go to the commander. Then he started placing us quickly. Right behind where I was sitting, there turned out to be a dugout. He immediately accommodated me. The dugout was about one and a half meters — one and a half by one and a half in area, and one and a half in height. You couldn’t even stand upright inside. He said, "Get in here. You can drop your backpacks here — hide them so no one takes them." Three of us were placed in that dugout: me, Maloi (Kiddo), and Kaps. The weather didn’t allow movement, I stayed there for a month. You only go out when there’s rain, snow, or fog.
Does no one go out when the weather is clear?
No, it's simply impossible to get out. Sometimes someone manages to, but that's an exception. Drones fly over and drop grenades. You can't go anywhere, nothing.
You didn’t go out all this time?
Almost yes. For three weeks, I wanted to, but there was no way to get out. I held on. And there was nothing to eat either.
You held on for three weeks without going to the toilet?
No, we just lay and sat. There’s not even space to stand. And when I really had to, I just popped out. No drones, no one around. Three minutes and I was already back in the dugout.
Going to the toilet once in three weeks, that’s an incredible effort.
Because you hardly eat anything there.
Why is there nothing there?
You eat what you bring with you. And ours ran out by the fifth day.
But in general, do people come there with any supplies? Does someone deliver or carry them in?
They carried it in. To the one in charge.
Who was in charge at that position?
Solovei (Nightingale).
Solovei?
Yes.
Is Solovei a company commander, as far as you understand? The company commander of the 7th Motorized Rifle Regiment? What does Solovei look like?
He’s well-built. You couldn’t say he was starving. Because when I asked Panda for some food and water, we hadn’t eaten for eight days, I told him, "Throw me something to eat." He said, "I’ve got nothing. If you want it that badly, there’s a blown-up dugout about 300 meters away. They used to store supplies there. You can try running there." So I ran around, ran around— nothing. I said, "I’ve been running for five minutes now, I’m already standing next to you, my head’s spinning. I really can’t do this." "He said, 'I'll put a new one together now." I said, "Let me wait at your place." "No, don’t come to me," he said. "Go back to your dugout. If anything, I’ll call you on the walkie-talkie and you’ll come get it."
Okay. I ran back to my dugout. Then he started accusing me of jacking. Here's this hoodlum stole, here's these pears he was picking. Some Snickers were stolen, and other things. I told him, "I only took a couple of gingerbread cookies from you. You saw I left empty-handed." He replied, "You said, you said some gingerbread cookies. You know, people like you don’t last long in war." He threatened me. He said, "I’ll put a bullet in your forehead." That’s how he talked.
Over food?
Yeah. Okay, then. It went quiet after that. There was also a block of cigarettes, as Panda told us later. He came running to us later, sniffed around and said, "What’s that smell?" We told him, "We’re smoking tea." No smokes. No water. He said, "Look at this water — it’s just brown."
How long had you been starving before that?
About seven days, I think.
That’s shocking. You said there was no water.
We were collecting snow. Solovei bragged that he had about 30–35 liters in bottles. And we only had two or three 1.5-liter bottles, and maybe eight or nine half-liter ones. That’s all. They’re trying to profit off something, I don’t understand why. He was yelling, "I’ve got 9 million saved up on my bank card!"
Who was that shouting?
Solovei.
Did Solovei shout at you?
Not at me. He was shouting at Panda.
I had power banks with me. I was constantly charging the walkie-talkie and listening. It was boring.
And he was bragging over the walkie-talkie that he had 9 million rubles in his account.
Yes. Nine million rubles — while we hadn’t eaten in five days. And he shouts, "I’m eating honey right now!". Super cool
He was bragging over the radio?
Over the radio. With other ones, what’s his (сall sign - ed. note)? Pernatyi (Feathery). I’m Pernatyi, he’s Krylatyi (Winged). One of Panda’s deputies. Solovei was boasting to him: "I’m lying down, eating honey. I just got here, drinking liters of water — I can’t get enough."
The first time we came under fire, twice, two nights in a row. At 3 a.m., something would hit. On the third night, we just got scared and ran in the evening to a different dugout. Solovei said that one was his backup dugout. He told us: "Get out of there. If you don’t, I’ll chain you to the trees overnight. To a tree. And you’ll die there, obviously." We told him we couldn’t. Two days later, he came running to us. He was checking something with the generator. He ran in, hid from a drone, and ran away again. A bit of snow had fallen — just a little. But it was enough for the drone to track footprints and spot the dugout. Around 5 a.m. — or maybe even within the hour — a drone showed up, dropped a grenade on the dugout. Then a kamikaze drone arrived and exploded on it. About two hours later, a tank started firing at us.
If it had landed a meter and a half closer — two at most — we’d be dead. Then that night, an anti-tank drone showed up and dropped three more — all close by. The next day, I radioed Panda and said: "Panda, what the hell is going on?" Solovei had told us, "Don’t expose the dugout, or I’ll chain you to a tree." But in the end, he came himself, exposed the dugout — and then told us, "Everyone’s hitting you now — except for mortars, it seems." I had a talk with him. Two hours later, it started all over again: tank fired, and that night Baba Yaga came and dropped more mines. We thought it over and said, screw this — we’re falling back. And at dawn, we ran back to our previous position.
Please walk us through the day you decided to surrender step by step. What pushed you to that decision? How did the day begin, what were you thinking?
I woke up at around three in the morning. I couldn’t sleep at all. I still had some water — that dirty stuff I’d scooped from puddles when the snow melted. The next day, we just moved to another dugout and sat there. I kept thinking: what the hell am I supposed to do? I told Panda, "I’m gonna go kill him." I mean it — I was starving.
Who are you going to kill?
Solovei.
So, you said that to Panda?
Yeah. He told me, "You’re stupid." I said, "What do you mean, stupid? What’s so wrong about it? He’s got food, water, got everything. And we’ve got nothing. Nothing at all. Is that normal?" And he knew — he already knew that I wanted to shoot him already with my rifle. Anyway, we sat there. We had a fight, had a falling out. He moved to another dugout, then came back. He sat outside for about two hours. I stayed behind alone, sitting. Before that, we’d had some tea — the last of it with muddy water. Then he left. I told him I’d come to him later that evening. So I sat there, sat there and eventually I just took four grenades and went to Solovei. It had boiled over, everything. I came out, walked up to him, entered his dugout. Dugout had already been hit. Probably two anti-tank rounds had blown the roof. He had this foxhole setup — lined with sandbags, stuffed with a sleeping bag. I pulled the bag out. I said, "Anyone in there?" Silence. Again: "Anyone in there?" "Yes, yes — who’s there?" I pulled the pin and tossed in one grenade. Then — screams. "We surrender!"
Solovei was shouting?
Yeah. Solovei, or maybe someone else — the guy who had just brought him fuel and clothing. "We surrender!" And I thought: What the hell are you surrendering to me for? I’m just like you — a Russian. So I threw in a second grenade. Like — either you shoot me now, or. The second grenade — flames burst out of the dugout, and thick acrid smoke started pouring out. I sat a bit longer. I could hear someone trying to put out the fire. Then I got up, pulled out one backpack, then another. Opened a can of stew.
Did you go inside to see him?
No, I didn’t go inside. They were just nearby.
At the entrance?
Yeah, near the foxhole. The entrance had been blown open, and on the right side there was a small roof. Two backpacks were lying there. I pulled them out and dumped everything on the ground — fuel, clothing. I didn’t need that. I needed food. I grabbed the second backpack, opened it — there were some dry cereals and a can of stew. I opened the stew right away and started eating. Then I found a chocolate bar and ate that too. I noticed the acrid smoke had settled. I went down and called out: "Is anyone alive?" I could hear someone still trying to put out the fire — or maybe something was hissing. I pulled the pin on another grenade and threw it in. Then I climbed out again and kept eating. I grabbed a kettle and wanted to set it up to boil water right there outside. Then a drone flew over. I raised my hands to show that I was surrendering.
How did you show it?
I raised my hands high. I said, "I surrender, please don’t kill me." I tried to show them what the dugout looked like, but they didn’t seem to understand. I wanted to go over and drop some food to the guy. But they dropped some kind of battle-noise simulator from above — it went off. I got the message. I said, "Okay, I’m leaving." I started heading back — but in the end, I pulled out one more grenade and threw it into the dugout.
Did the drone realize that you had destroyed the company commander’s dugout and stop bombing you after that?
Yeah, it didn’t bomb me anymore. I was already moving forward when the drone dropped something. I jumped back, scared, thinking it was dropping something. But I waited — it lay there for about two minutes, and nothing went off. I raised my head, saw something bright green. Realized it wasn’t an explosive. I moved closer and saw it was an electronic cigarette. I picked it up — there was a note attached to it: "Follow the drone and you won’t be shot. Follow the drone, and no one will fire at you." I grabbed my backpack and followed the drone.
Bohdan, dispatcher of ISTAR13, NGU Operational Brigade "Khartiia":
I understood they were in a bad state, short on food and water. I saw them drinking from puddles.
What did you know about that position? Did you know there were Russian commanders in the dugout where he threw the grenade?
We didn't know it, but I had an idea that someone was probably sitting there, because Starlink was standing right 10 meters from the position. That usually means either mortar crews, drone operators, or a commander is present. So we started hitting them. And after that Russian assault soldier finished eating, he took his backpack and started heading toward the rear. A drone flew in with a payload drop about a meter in front of him — sending a clear message that he needed to go a different way. We dropped a note — it had an electronic cigarette wrapped in it.
How long were you tracking him?
About two and a half hours. He started along the forest belt, but the section that included the forest belt and the field — he passed through the field quicker, since he had taken a rest earlier, he was carrying a backpack and a kettle.
Prisoner of war: I actually wanted to go through all the dugouts. I wanted to eliminate everyone. But a drone stopped me. It dropped something that basically said: don’t go there. I kind of understood. I turned around and went back. I already had dynamite in my pocket — two 200-gram blocks. They already had cords attached. I had taken them from Solovei. Everything was stored in the dugout where we were staying — the same one the tank was hitting. There was more dynamite lying there. We used to think: if it hits — that’s it. There wouldn’t even be any bones left.
Did you feel sorry for anyone there?
I would have hit the Panda too. I wouldn’t have touched the electronic warfare guys as I didn’t know them.
What pushed you to make that decision? What was going through your head at the time?
Hunger. Just hunger. I wanted to eat, to drink.
How did the Ukrainians receive you?
It was okay, they even gave me hot tea.
Right there, on the front line?
Yeah. They took out the sausage I’d brought with me, gave me some of it, gave me a smoke, I probably drank three cups of tea. Then they tied me up and let me sleep. Two hours later, they woke me up — and I was taken away.
How are you now? How are you being treated in captivity? What are the conditions like?
Better than over there.
You're being fed, given water, no problems with that? Sleeping okay?
Yes.
Do you have a family?
A brother and a sister.
Your parents?
No, they passed away. Altogether, I’ve served 17 years in prison.
Seventeen years behind bars?
Three sentences, one after another. I’d get released and then end up back inside, released again — and back again.
What were you convicted of? What exactly were the charges?
Beatin, I beat a man, not just one, there were three of us. He died a day later. Then the theft. I stole a handbag — Article 161.
From a woman?
Yes. That was my second sentence. And the third sentence, well, we’d been drinking. There were three of us again, and in the end I got charged with grievous bodily harm again. I beat a man — and he died.
You beat two people and they both died?
I hit him three times, that’s it. The other two added more — and testified that I was the one who beat him to death.
I see. How old are you?
42.
42. So basically, you spent your whole adult life in prison?
Yes.
Did you work somewhere, or were you taken straight from prison?
From prison.
From prison?
Yes.
One year. How much time did you have left to serve?
One year.
Just one more year? So why did you decide to go to war instead of finishing your sentence?
I had a claim at the amout of 1.2 million rubles. There’s no way I could’ve paid that on my own. And besides, you start from scratch, they wipe your record clean.
If you were sent back to the front now, with all the experience you’ve gained, what would you do differently when you got to the front line?
First thing, I’d blow up Panda. And his Pernatyi. I’d take Dub — and hand over the rest. I’d tell them to go surrender.
