For the first time, intel shows Russians who were taken prisoner at contested Vovchansk plant–photos
Ukrainian special forces successfully liberated an aggregate plant from Russian control, capturing around 20 prisoners and eliminating most of the enemy forces, according to a LIGA.net interview with the commander of the Stuhna unit, known by the pseudonym Linux.
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"In the final stage, we managed to capture around 20 prisoners who finally realized the futility of further resistance and surrendered," the reconnaissance officer said.
The prisoners revealed that the Russian GRU special forces commanders who led them were either killed or abandoned their subordinates to die at the plant.
Additionally, according to the prisoners' testimonies, they were outraged that their commanders kept the majority of the food and water supplies that were delivered via drone drops for themselves.
Linux also mentioned that various units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted reconnaissance and infiltration operations on the plant's grounds over several months of the blockade. The final plan and the start of the clearance operation were formulated at the beginning of September.
The unique operation, which lasted over a week, was carried out by reconnaissance units from the Special Unit of Timur, fighters from the Stuhna, Paragon, Junger, RDK, Teror, and BDK units.
"The success of the operation was achieved because the enemy could not detect our buildup and the approach of our main forces. This took a lot of time and effort, but the result was worth it. The fighters who carried out the task spent several weeks in extremely difficult conditions with limited resources," Linux said.
On September 16, the Kharkiv Operational-Tactical Grouping reported that the Russians shelled areas near the aggregate plant in Volchansk, causing casualties among their own units.
On September 24, the Main Intelligence Directorate (DIU) announced the liberation of the Vovchansk aggregate plant from Russian control.