Editor's note: The Kyiv Independent obtained more footage of the prisoners of war but chose not to publish them due to ethical concerns.
Ukrainian special forces captured 102 Russian and Chechen soldiers in Kursk Oblast on Aug. 14, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent on Aug. 15.
As part of Ukraine's cross-border incursion into neighboring Kursk Oblast, special forces from the SBU carried out an operation on a Russian military base on Aug. 14 that resulted in the largest single capture of Russian troops so far in the war, according to the source.
The prisoners of war (POWs) belong to the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division and the Akhmat unit, a Chechen group of forces that fights for Russia, the source said.
Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Akhmat unit, was the first Russian commander to acknowledge Russian troop losses sustained by Ukraine's Kursk incursion.
Alaudinov, a close ally of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov and an official at the Russian Defense Ministry, admitted on Aug. 7 that "our people died, that's a fact. The enemy has entered several settlements."
The source in the SBU described the base in Kursk Oblast as a "sprawling, concrete, and well-fortified company stronghold," which had facilities including personnel quarters, a canteen, and an armory.
Owen Racer
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a report to President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 14 that Ukrainian forces operating in Kursk Oblast had captured more than 100 Russian troops.
The source did not clarify if Syrskyi was referring to the results of the same special operation.
Zelensky said on Aug. 14 that he was "grateful to all involved," and the taking of Russian prisoners would allow Ukraine to return more of its own POWs that Russia is holding.
"This will speed up the return home of our boys and girls," he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters on Aug. 13 that "unlike Russia, Ukraine does not seek to seize territory" but wants to "protect the lives of our people."
Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast aims to prevent Moscow from sending additional reinforcements to the front in Donbas and stop Russian cross-border strikes, Tykhyi said.
(Updated: )
