Russian Officer Captured By Ukraine Says Leaders Lied About Invasion: 'We Knew Very Little'

A high-ranking Russian officer captured by Ukraine said he and his troops were duped into believing they needed to liberate Ukraine from Nazis and fascists.

National Guard Lt. Col. Astakhov Dmitry Mikhailovich and two other Russian soldiers spoke at a press conference last week and condemned Moscow’s “genocide” invasion. In a video of the news conference that surfaced Monday, the colonel said they were told the troops were being sent to Ukraine because it was being “dominated by a fascist regime” and that “nationalists and Nazis had seized power” in the country.

“Obviously, this information was unilateral information,” the colonel said, according to the New York Post.

Willing to face the consequences of being part of the Russian attack, Mikhailovich said his doubts about the real motive behind them being sent to Ukraine was confirmed after finding out his favorite boxers, Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, were joining the Ukrainian resistance.

“I feel shame that we came to this country,” the colonel was quoted saying. “I don’t know why we were doing it. We knew very little. We brought sorrow to this land.”

“I cannot find the words to say sorry to the Ukrainian people,” he added.

The captured officer urged Ukraine to show mercy to Russian soldiers who surrender because many of them are “just embarrassed” and “do not want war.”

“I just sincerely hope for your mercy toward those people who come to you with their hands up, or those who are wounded. We should not sow death — it’s better to sow life,” Mikhailovich continued.

It is unclear whether the colonel made the statements under duress, but he insisted his words were not scripted and that he was speaking freely at the media conference hosted by Ukraine’s UNIAN news agency, according to news.com.au.

“If someone came to my territory, I would do the same these people (the Ukrainians) did. And I would be right. And they are right now. While I have to sit here and offer excuses,” Mikhailovich reportedly said.

The colonel, flanked by two Russian soldiers, also sent a message to his troops urging them to “be brave” and start defying their commanders.

“You are in a tense situation, going against your own commander. But this is genocide,” he said, as quoted by the New York Post. “Russia cannot win here anyway. Even if we go until the very end. We can invade the territory but we cannot invade the people.”