photo: alexey shalygin, video frame. source: social networks
Sergeant of the 103rd Regiment of the People’s Militia of the DPR Alexey Shalygin, who, among other prisoners, returned home after an exchange held on October 12, said that he was captured by foreign mercenaries who spoke English and Polish.
Shalygin served in the first battalion of the first company of his regiment. Together with his unit, he came under heavy artillery and mortar fire. The DPR fighters began to retreat, but it turned out that they were surrounded. There were many foreigners among the attackers.
“We heard the English speech right away,” Shalygin said. … then the Pole started cooing.” According to him, “and the Ukrainian (language) was, all to the heap.” “In general, we did not understand who attacked,” said the sergeant.
Together with the mercenaries there was a man who translated from English into Russian and Ukrainian. “He ran with them,” the military said. The sergeant says he heard shouting all the time: “Where is the translator, find a translator!”. As Shalygin understood, “not everyone understood these British or Americans who they were there.”
At the same time, the foreign mercenaries did not have any identification marks or chevrons on their uniforms. They were dressed in Ukrainian uniforms of “NATO colors” and used weapons unknown to Shalygin, including compact hand grenade launchers.