The soldier says nothing while on the call but he is trying his best to hold his tears back and keep his composure.
In a heart-wrenching video, a captive Russian soldier breaks down in tears while sipping his tea and eating food as Ukrainians call his mother to tell her he’s okay, according to New York Post.
In the unverified video, the disheartened soldier was surrounded by several people and cars after he apparently surrendered. He’s bundled up, sipping tea and munching on a pastry while a woman holds up a mobile phone in an apparent video call with his mom.
“Compare the compassion here to Putin’s brutality,” said Buzzfeed correspondent Christopher Miller, who shared the viral clip to Twitter. Miller received the video while it was being circulated on messaging app Telegram, he said.
A surrendered Russian soldier is moved to tears after a video call with his mompic.twitter.com/yQuEOf7qYI
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) March 2, 2022
"Remarkable video circulating on Telegram. Ukrainians gave a captured Russian soldier food and tea and called his mother to tell her he’s ok. He breaks down in tears. Compare the compassion shown here to Putin’s brutality," he captioned the video.
Off-camera, a man can be heard saying in Ukrainian that the soldiers “don’t know why they are here,” according to a translation by The US Sun. “These young men, it’s not their fault,” the man is heard saying in Ukrainian, according to the translation.
A Reddit user, who was kind enough to share the translation said that the sentence starts mid-sentence, with: "They’re giving their kids away as cannon fodder. They dont know where they are driving. Stand up women. Bring them up to their feet. Lift up people, see your son is alive and well, nothing will happen, nothing will happen to him. Stand up and lift up your people as people. Go to railroads, roads, and bridges cover them, do everything."
Russians troops surrendering in this war doesn’t make them weak, it means they got a heart in the right place.
— MORI (@DetectiveSnake8) March 2, 2022
"They brought together young soldiers. The convoys are blown up. Convoys, convoys of your russian soldiers. They should just leave. He is here now. He did not even know why he came. Here, to us. They are driving old tanks."
The woman holding the phone calls out to the soldier's mother, "Natasha, Natasha everything is good, natasha can you hear? Thats it. Here talk, talk."
"Alright Natasha, goodluck, God be with you. Everything is good. Say goodbye. Later Natasha, we will establish communications with you. He is alive and well, we will communicate with you."
The soldier meanwhile, says nothing on the call with his mom, but it is evident that he is trying his best to hold his tears back and keep his composure as he eats and drinks, before ending by blowing a kiss to his mom.
“The way he is chugging down that tea and food it seems like he hasn’t eaten in days,” one Twitter user said of the heartbreaking video. “So beautiful to see these wonderful people have not lost their humanity,” said another. “God bless them and the young soldier.”
That young man is starving and dehydrated. He is gulping that hot tea. Putin sends these poor kids into harm’s way and can’t even be bothered to make sure they have sufficient food and drink….and here are the Ukrainians showing him mercy and kindness.
— Val Lete (@val_lete) March 2, 2022
Meanwhile, one user saw the clip as a sign of optimism amid the brutal reality of the Russian invasion. “This is heartbreaking and in the same breath gives you hope for humanity,” the user wrote.
"Ukraine is actually telling their parents that they can come to the border and get them, I shit you not. Ukraine really is fighting hate with love," shared one more person.
References:
https://nypost.com/2022/03/02/video-shows-crying-russian-soldier-drinking-tea-calling-mom/
https://www.the-sun.com/news/4806626/moment-starving-russian-soldier-surrenders-cries-to-mum/
Cover Image Source: Twitter | Christopher Miller
