'Missing' Russian Major Tomov Captured by Ukraine, Reveals Heavy Losses

A video has emerged that appears to show a Russian commander, who was reportedly recently captured by Ukraine. He speaks about heavy troop losses sustained by his battalion in the war, during a lengthy interrogation published late on Sunday.

The man identified himself in the video as Russian Major Yuri Tomov, commander of the 1822nd battalion of the Russian Armed Forces. He reportedly went missing during a raid by Ukraine last week on the Russian-controlled side of the Dnieper River. The area has been occupied since the early days of Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale February 2022 invasion of the country.

The Ukrainian "Nikolaevsky Vanyok" Telegram channel, which has 1.2 million subscribers, published a 14-minute video of his interrogation. A lengthy post said that Tomov talked about Russian losses, about Russia's prospects in the war, and about a lack of training provided for troops.

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the authenticity of the clip and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry via email for comment on Monday. There have been concerns that captured prisoners of war are being used to record fake video messages.

In the video, the battalion commander said that he was drafted under Putin's partial- mobilization order in September 2022 and that he has been in Ukraine since October 15, 2022. He added that he served as chief of staff of the unit prior to his appointment as commander.

Tomov said that combat losses of his unit are likely to be at about 30 percent. He added that Russian soldiers became depressed in a short period of time and then refused to carry out tasks that were assigned to them. "It's impossible to conduct combat operations with such personnel," said the commander.

Tomov added that, prior to his capture in Ukraine, he considered soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be "Nazis" and followers of "fascist ideas" and that he had relayed to his troops this narrative pushed by Putin and Kremlin propaganda. He said he later came to the realization that he was wrong and everything turned out to be not as he imagined.

"This conclusion was made after I was captured in Ukraine. I met [Ukrainian] people and talked with them," said Tomov.

He added that he realized the war started by Putin is an occupation and a cruel war that does not spare the peaceful population, the life and health of the citizens of both Russia and Ukraine.

The Russian major was unable to say why Moscow's troops are killing civilians, adding that it is very difficult question.

"I don't understand how the worldview of people has radically changed to please the crazy ideas of Vladimir Putin. Why people who wanted to live peacefully began to kill others. The president's ideals have nothing to do with reality," said Tomov.

When the commander's interviewer told him that he is more afraid of Russia's leadership than he is to die on Ukrainian territory, Tomov issued an appeal to Russia's military brass and fellow soldiers.

"I want to appeal to all the combat officers, all my comrade-in-arms, asking them to stop this pointless bloody war on Ukrainian territory. This war will be lost, and it will not bring anything good to our homes," the Russian commander said.

"It is necessary to return to your military units and units on the territory of the Russian Federation and to restore order in your country as God did," Tomov added.

Earlier, Russian pro-military channels reported that Tomov was captured during an operation by Ukraine in the Kherson region. Later, a short unverified video emerged that appeared to show him drawing on a map.

The Trinadtsatyi channel was among the Russian milbloggers who reported on the development. Posts there said 16 Russian soldiers and two officers went missing during the Ukrainian raid, including a "Major Tomov" who accompanied the enlisted troops to check the positions in question.

"If Tomov gets in touch, I will apologize, wish him good health, and put a bottle of good cognac on," one post read at the time. "But the group did not reach the control point. At this hour, out of sixteen people, there is NO ONE on the line."

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