2 Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian forces after flag-raising operation in Kostiantynivka, Skelia confirms

Russian forces captured two Ukrainian soldiers belonging to the controversial Skelia Assault Regiment during an operation in which the Ukrainian flag was raised in Kostiantynivka in an area the unit had claimed was clear of Russian troops, the regiment confirmed to the Kyiv Independent on July 20.

The regiment published a video on July 18 showing Ukrainian forces raising a flag in the city in Donetsk Oblast, which Russian forces have been trying to bring under full control for several months. Skelia also claimed that Kostiantynivka was under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and had been cleared of Russian troops.

An anonymous Ukrainian Telegram channel Operatyvnyi ZSU published a video on the same day featuring the Skelia logo, in which three alleged members of the unit, holding flags with portraits of Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that the cultural center in Kostiantynivka had been cleared and the Ukrainian flag had been raised.

The video has since been removed from the Telegram channel but is still available on other platforms.

Also on July 19, the Russian Defense Ministry released a video showing two Ukrainian soldiers in the same cultural center in Kostiantynivka who were allegedly seen in the video from the Operatyvnyi ZSU Telegram channel. In the video, the soldiers confirm that they are from Skelia and also claim that the city is under Russian control and that their comrades were killed during the operation.

In response to an inquiry from the Kyiv Independent, Skelia confirmed that the soldiers in the Russian Defense Ministry's video are its service members who were taken prisoner. When asked whether they were the only Ukrainian soldiers captured during the operation, the regiment did not respond.

In an official statement, the Skelia Assault Regiment said it was seeking to establish all the circumstances surrounding the incident and that details of the operation in the city could not be disclosed.

Skelia referred to the capture of Ukrainian service members as "extremely painful news," adding that the soldiers were alive and that the regiment would assist with procedures intended to secure their return.

"The display of Ukrainian prisoners of war does not indicate either the capture of Kostiantynivka or the defeat of the regiment," the statement read.

The regiment added that during the operation, Ukrainian forces also captured two Russian soldiers.

Skelia is one of Ukraine's largest assault formations, with more than 10,000 personnel. Expanded as part of an effort by Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi to build specialized assault units, the regiment receives a large share of newly mobilized recruits and is regularly assigned high-risk assault operations.

The assault unit, which has reportedly suffered higher-than-average battlefield losses, came under scrutiny after an investigation by Ukrainian outlet Babel published on June 23 detailed allegations of abuse within the unit and at least 25 noncombat deaths among recruits. The outlet later reported seven additional cases.

The reports about the flag being raised over Kostiantynivka also come amid a political crisis in Ukraine that began after the controversial dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, which was reportedly linked in part to a long-running conflict with Syrskyi.

Protests have continued in Ukraine for five days, with demonstrators calling for Fedorov to be reinstated and Syrskyi to be dismissed.