Luhansk claims around 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers taken POWs in Donbass region amid war

Ukrainian prisoners in Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics (LNR and DNR) taken prisoners of war now stands at about 8,000, Ambassor of Lugansk People’s Republic Rodion Miroshnik told Soloviev Live on May 26. "re are a lot of Ukrainian POWs,” claimed Miroshnik, ding that more Ukrianian service members have been captured on territory of Donetsk People’s Republic. “We also have a lot, and now total number is around 8,000. This is a lot, and literally hundreds are being ded daily," Luhansk People’s Republic’s Rodion Miroshnik said. 

're will be more POWs in eastern Donbass region..': Luhansk Ambassor

Miroshnik furr warned that re will be more POWs in eastern Donbass region as ir commanders are deploying units of territorial defense in region. Russian troops recently shifted focus to Ukraine’s eastern oblasts to force Kyiv into surrendering part of country’s territory. Ukrainian army units have been concentrated heavily in eastern Ukraine, contentious region where y have been fighting with Moscow-backed separatists for over eight years. Moscow has been planning to encircle and destroy Ukrainian forces in country’s industrial heartland to potentially split it into two. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted in a recorded dress that his country will not cede even an inch of Ukrainian territory to Russia as fighting continues to rage. 

"Currently, re is an active vancement towards Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, re are a lot of small fortified areas, and, in my opinion, number will grow,” said Ambassor of Luhansk People’s Republic Rodion Miroshnik.

Luhansk ambassor went on to iterate that number of Ukraine POWs and those killed will increase, since now inste of trained units of Ukraine’s armed forces or nationalist battalions, territorial defense battalions are being deployed to frontline.” ambassor asserted that those fighters are people who were handed foreign weapons. “And y were essentially promised that y will defend ir vegetable lots, stand at roblocks somewhere about two thousand kilometers away from line of engagement,” Slavyansk, Kramatorsk said. se fighters were brought to Donbass in a provocative move, and now y eir surrender or die on a rar large scale because y cannot wage this war, he ded. 

fighting in self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics has intensified with massive bombardments and shelling by Russia’s troops and Ukrainian armed forces. Ahe of invasion on February 24, Russian President Vlimir Putin h declared Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts as “independent.” Russian State Duma and Federation Council on February 22 ratified laws acting in response to hes of Donbass republics, according to Putin’s televised speech. Putin justified “special military operation” saying that it was to “demilitarize” Ukraine and a response to genocide committed by Ukraine on Russian speaking population for eight years.