Defenders of the 42nd Mechanized Brigade named after Hero of Ukraine Valeriy Hudz have apprehended a Russian assault soldier with the call sign “Yastreb.” A video of the interrogation was released on the brigade’s Telegram channel.
The captive is identified as Junior Sergeant Kolpakov Roman Yevhenovych, born in 1999, from Barnaul, Altai Krai. He serves as an EW operator in the 137th Motor Rifle Brigade “Ural.”
Initially, when questioned by the AFU soldiers, the invader provided a false call sign. Upon being caught in a lie, he explained that he “wanted one like that himself,” claiming to have invented it because he used to play for a hockey team with that name.
The man confessed that he ended up at the front because he “had an argument with family and got angry.” He was deployed as an assault trooper near Novopavlivka. Roman had been fighting since 2023, so he was very familiar with the area and immediately understood how it would end.
“It seems to me that it was clear to everyone from the start that the group would be destroyed. It was a hundred percent gamble. Everyone in the group was new, they didn’t quite understand what was going on,” the Russian stated.
According to the Russian soldier’s recollection, they were unable to reach Novopavlivka itself due to obstacles. The group dismounted, moved through civilian courtyards, and took cover in a basement. Two hours later, an FPV drone attacked. One of the soldiers died on the spot, and Roman himself was stunned. After several movements between buildings, another drone attack occurred. He managed to jump out of a window, hide in a garage, and wait for smoke to cover his escape to move further.
The unit was eliminated, and Kolpakov was left alone. He recounted how he hid among ruins within a radius of several hundred meters for almost three months. He survived on canned goods and grains found in basements. The man was waiting for orders to retreat, but despite how much they like to repeat in Moscow “we don’t abandon our own,” the order never came.
“Someone saw me in a window and shouted: ‘Stop! Drop your weapon! Empty your pockets and come closer’,” he recalled how he was captured.
According to him, after being detained, he was fed, given drinks, and allowed to smoke. Now he hopes to be exchanged.
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