Russian serviceman Viktor Ageev, drafted in the Altai region and serving under a contract, was captured in the Donbass. This was reported by the BBC Russian Service with reference to sources in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the command of the 93rd separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of the republic.
A young man born in 1995, after completing military service in Novocherkassk, Rostov region, remained to serve in the army under a contract that he signed in March of this year, Ageev’s mother, friends and former colleagues told reporters. Victor was sent to the special forces brigade of the GRU of the Russian General Staff in the Rostov region.
He was captured on June 24 near the village of Zhelobok, Slavyanoserbsky district, Lugansk region. At that time, there were battles between the 93rd separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the reconnaissance group of the fourth mechanized brigade of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).
The commander of the Ukrainian brigade said that during the battle the commander of the LPR brigade, “career Russian officer” Alexander Shcherbak, was killed. Four more servicemen were captured, including a contract soldier from the Altai Territory.
She published a photo of the captured soldier’s passport and military ID in her Facebook journalist of the Ukrainian TV channel ICTV Yulia Kiriyenko. According to her, Ageev was entrusted with firing a machine gun, but the young man did not know how to use it, became confused during the battle and was eventually captured.
A military ID in the name of Viktor Ageev was issued by the military commissar for the Topchikhinsky and Kalmansky districts of the Altai Territory. Representatives of the commissariat could not confirm or deny its authenticity.
Indirectly, the possibility of Ageev’s participation in hostilities in the Donbass is indicated by the fact that on the social network “Vkontakte” he was a member of the group “4th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the NM LPR.” On his Odnoklassniki page, in April and May of this year, he published several photographs of himself with military intelligence symbols, as well as several photographs of himself in positions with weapons and without identification marks. In addition, Viktor, in personal correspondence, informed several of his friends that he was in Ukraine, serving under a contract, and was “paid enough.”
The mother of a captured serviceman recognized her son from published photographs of his passport and military ID. According to her, Victor had not contacted her for a long time; the last time they called was on May 30. In one of the conversations, he “veiledly” made it clear that he was in Donbass. No one from the command of the unit where Ageev served has yet contacted his mother.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the captured serviceman has now been transferred to the Security Service of Ukraine.
The official representative of the people's militia of the LPR Andrei Marochko on the evening of June 27 presented his version of events. According to him, on June 24, a Ukrainian sabotage group attacked military personnel who were delivering food to personnel. “As a result of the attack, two servicemen were brutally killed. Before their death, they were subjected to severe torture. An examination of the bodies showed that each had more than ten knife wounds,” Marochko said.
According to him, four soldiers of the people's militia were kidnapped and ended up "in the dungeons of the Security Service of Ukraine." “In order for them to admit that they are allegedly Russian servicemen, attempts are being made to force them to incriminate themselves by influencing their immediate relatives. Unidentified persons call the relatives of the abducted soldiers by phone and intimidate them,” said a representative of the people’s militia.
The plenipotentiary representative of the self-proclaimed republic at the Minsk negotiations, Vladislav Deinego, denied the information that the captured serviceman is a citizen of Russia. “We checked the information about the people captured by Kiev. These guys are contract soldiers of the LPR and are not Russians at all. They are local, our guys,” Interfax quotes the official as saying.
According to Deinego, Lugansk will seek the exchange of detainees. “We immediately put these people on the wanted list and in the future seek their exchange. The same will happen with these guys,” he said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Ageev did not serve as a contractor in the armed forces. “According to the registration data of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Viktor Ageev served in the military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, after which in May 2016 he duly retired to the reserve. Information about Viktor Ageev’s alleged subsequent entry into military service under a contract in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is a fiction of Ukrainian propagandists,” the department said in a statement.
According to a representative of the Ministry of Defense, on the second page of Ageev’s military ID there is a note that he was transferred to the reserve in May 2016. If he had subsequently entered the service under a contract, a corresponding entry would have been made about this, but “the Ukrainian special services, out of ignorance, did not have time to draw it up.”
Ageeva was gathered for the trip by the entire village of Topchikha and her entire school. “Some brought two hundred rubles, some brought 300,” says the woman. “Can you really collect a lot when our teachers receive 10 thousand rubles?”
Journalists from the local media holding Altapress bought Ageeva’s plane ticket to Moscow. Then the two of us could take a direct train with her to Kharkov and from there by car get to Starobelsk in 3.5 hours. But right before purchasing the tickets, it turned out that Ageeva did not have a passport. As an exception, the official Ukrainian side agreed to let the woman in using an internal Russian passport. But, as we learned through our sources, problems could most likely arise when crossing the Russian border. Moreover, even in Altai, shortly before flying to Moscow, Ageeva received a call from the FSB and made it clear that the service knew about her plans and did not welcome such amateur activities.
“Why do you need such adventures? You know what’s happening where you’re going,” a man who introduced himself as an employee of the local FSB told her. “He spoke in such an insinuating, pleasant voice. I somehow felt uneasy. It’s like they’ve stripped me and everyone can see,” Ageeva recalls.
We eventually got to the territory of Ukraine by making a long detour through Belarus on the Minsk-Kharkov day train. All the way Ageeva looks out the window with anxiety and curiosity. “I’ve never been here, and I haven’t been to Ukraine since 1976, I can’t even imagine how people live.” Belarusian border guards look at our passports for a long time. This is the third employee studying the documents: first with a lamp, and then with a magnifying glass. At some point, it seems that our idea of bypassing the border is doomed. But Belarusians report that the documents are in perfect order. “But maybe the Ukrainians won’t like something,” says the border guard girl.
Half an hour later, our train slowed down at the Ukrainian border station of Khorobichi. Svetlana Ageeva began to cross herself: people in camouflage and with a dog were walking along the carriage. “I’m very worried,” Ageeva said. “What if we are now…” “What exactly?” - I asked. “Something,” the woman said. - They'll take it all. It’s a shame I won’t see my son.” "Do not be afraid. Maybe they’ll settle me nearby,” I said out of place. Ageeva crossed herself again. But the people with the dog never appeared in the carriage, but one of the leaders of the border detachment came and spoke in Ukrainian about the procedure for a short-term stay and wished us a speedy meeting.
“A very nice young man,” said Ageeva.
- What did you expect?
— I was afraid of some kind of aggression. Do you read the comments that are sometimes written and shown...
— Do you still watch “Soloviev-Kiselev”?
- Why are you clinging to them? — Ageeva couldn’t stand it. - Soloviev, Kiselev... Well, I don’t have any other channels, they only show two channels! Previously, there was a set-top box, ten channels worked, I had enough of them, but then I didn’t have time for it at all... I’ll come now, maybe I’ll install the set-top box again. NTV, “Culture”...
- And the BBC?
“I loved this when I was young, I listened directly to it in English... But now there is no time at all: work, children, and you only earn food and utility bills, and there is nothing else left, and there is no strength left, what kind of “Bi- BBC".
— Where do you go on vacation?
— I used to often go to Kazakhstan to visit friends, now we go to Barnaul to visit our eldest son and grandchildren...
- Rest?
“Well, rest,” Ageeva sighs.
Our train passes through the north of Ukraine. At stations, Ageeva looks out of the window at passengers and rare station buildings. “You’re asking: am I going or not? You obviously don’t know at all how people live in the outback. You don’t write about this! All you need about hot food! - the woman flared up. — Sometimes you want to talk to someone about politics and economics, to discuss something, but there is no one with whom. I have a library at home, books. No one is interested in this, no one is interested. Everyone is just surviving. Although there was a time when people seemed to start living with dignity little by little, from 2006 to 2009, and then it was like a downhill slide.”
- Why didn’t you leave your village? Why are you staying there?
-Where am I going now? Twenty years ago it was possible to move, so I moved here from Kazakhstan. She was eager to go everywhere, she was very active, and Victor is the same for me. Ten years ago, I remember, we were installing a cell tower, on the very first day the local police officer called me: take your son, he has climbed up and is sitting at the very top. This is how he remained. I hoped that the army would give him the opportunity to break out, start living, studying...
Representatives of the SBU meet us in Kharkov. After a short rest, we travel by minibus to Starobelsk, accompanied by film crews from three European news agencies. A Bild journalist asks Ageeva in English how she is feeling. “Veri gud,” the English teacher says, so that the reporter doesn’t ask anything else. Ageeva is silent all the way, looking around at those present and at the views from the window. “When I return, I’ll start telling what I saw, and no one in the village will believe it. They will say, they recruited me, they drugged me, I can already imagine the conversations. Well, okay!"
In the Starobelsk pre-trial detention center, you need to go through a formal procedure - write an application for a visit and a transfer. Ageeva fills out a form in the office of the head of the detention center, Mikhail Cherevaty, a tall, middle-aged man in the uniform of a lieutenant colonel. While she is writing, Cherevaty asks me to take a photo of him and Ageeva on his phone. “History is an interesting thing,” says Cherevaty. — Do you know, for example, that for several days Starobelsk was the capital of Ukraine? Was there a brewery in the building of our pre-trial detention center? History turns in different ways.” Ageeva herself no longer pays attention to conversations and journalists. Very soon I will meet my son.
Ageev will appear in sweatpants and a black T-shirt, a little confused. Before meeting his mother, foreign journalists will ask him several questions. Ageev will again confirm that he ended up in the Lugansk region as a serviceman of the Russian army, but will note that almost immediately after crossing the border he signed a contract with the “LPR”.
Most of the meeting with my mother, as originally promised, was spent in private.
- Svetlana Viktorovna,finally you met...
-Yes, we went to this for so long, it took us two days to get there...
— Three.
-Three. My head hurts, I'm sorry. The Ukrainian side helped us a lot in this. And, taking this opportunity, I really want to thank everyone who helped us.<…>
— Svetlana Viktorovna, what have you seen here in these two days in Ukraine, tell us about it?
—Hand on my heart, I’ll say that I expected something a little different. But it turned out that we received such a warm welcome and friendly relations. They tried to show attention and put us up in a hotel. That is, the attitude was very good, so human. I am very grateful to them.
— What do you tell Victor?
-That I miss you very much and... that I would return home soon.
- I want too.
- To forget it and draw conclusions. Yes?
- Yes, you won’t be able to forget it.
- Well, you won’t be able to forget, but you need to draw conclusions.
- Which one, for example?
—The conclusion must be drawn that people should not shoot at each other. Should not. Countries should not fight, but be friends. And so that our politicians think about this, so that such situations do not arise with our children anymore.
At the very end of our conversation, I told the Ageevs about the story of Sergeant Alexandrov and Captain Erofeev, who had been waiting for an exchange for almost a year ( at the end of May 2016 Ukraine- ed.).
I warned that the trial and exchange negotiations could drag on for many months this time too. In response, the corporal said that none of the official representatives of Russia had yet visited him, despite the fact that the nearest Russian Consulate General is located very close by - in Kharkov. During the entire month, diplomats called the head of the colony, Cherevaty, only once.
“Even if I return to Russia someday, then what next?” - Ageev asked me. “You decide for yourself,” I answer. “Did you hear what happened to Grushnik Erofeev when he returned? - Ageev began. - They just removed it. Killed." "How do you know?" - "I know exactly. Everyone is talking about this: both there and here, on this side. Everyone knows that they did this to him. Because he said too much." “But this is propaganda, this is how people usually intimidate in war.” “No,” insisted the 23-year-old corporal. “They just wouldn’t say that.” I'm sure. Although nothing is certain anymore... I just want to be pulled out of here.”
updated
Svetlana Ageeva’s appeal to Ukrainian mothers
Recorded after meeting with son Victor
Minsk-Kharkov-Starobelsk
In the Lugansk region, a Russian soldier, Viktor Ageev, who was drafted in the Altai Territory and served under a contract, was captured.
Interlocutors in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the command of the 93rd separate mechanized brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine reported this to the BBC.
Viktor Ageev’s mother, his friends and former colleagues confirmed to the BBC Russian Service that after military service, he remained to serve in the army under a contract that he signed in March 2017.
Scout Viktor Ageev, born in 1995, was captured on June 24 near the village of Zhelobok, Slavyanoserbsky district, Lugansk region, as a result of a clash between soldiers of the 93rd separate mechanized brigade and a reconnaissance group of the 4th mechanized brigade of the 2nd army corps of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).
This was reported to the BBC by sources in the 93rd Brigade and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Brigade commander Vladislav Klochkov, commenting on the details of the battle with the “LPR sabotage and reconnaissance group,” said that the commander of this group was killed during the clash. Ukrainian media reported that the dead man was “career Russian officer” Alexander Shcherbak.
Ukrainian military personnel also reported that four LPR fighters were captured, including “a 22-year-old citizen of the Russian Federation, a resident of the Altai Territory.”
The website of the Ukrainian TV channel "24" reported the name of the detainee - Viktor Ageev. This information was confirmed to the BBC by interlocutors in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the 93rd Brigade, providing photographs of his documents.
Photo of the detainee’s passport and military ID also published Journalist of the Ukrainian TV channel ICTV Yulia Kiriyenko is on her Facebook page.
The passport was issued by the local migration service department in May 2016. The military ID was signed by the military commissar for the Topchikhinsky and Kalmansky districts of the Altai Territory, Konstantin Eller.
The commissariat for the Topchikhinsky and Kalmansky district, where the BBC Russian Service contacted for comment, offered to send a letter of request. “We don’t use fax, we don’t have Internet addresses,” said the officer on duty at the commissariat.
As follows from the data on the military ID, in 2015 Viktor Ageev received secondary vocational education at the Altai State College as a third-class electric and gas welder.
The BBC college education department confirmed that they remember such a student, but found it difficult to say how to contact him.
As the BBC learned from two former colleagues of Viktor Ageev, after graduating from Altai State College, in 2015-2016 he served in military unit 65246, stationed in Novocherkassk, Rostov region.
“We served with him in the communications regiment,” said one of the former colleagues on condition of anonymity. “He retired in the summer, and I at the end of 2016. Then he went to serve as a contract in military intelligence, but he wanted to sign the contract in another unit, and I don’t know exactly how things turned out for him.”
Viktor Ageev himself announced that he had entered contract service on his page on the social network VKontakte on April 1. On the social network, he maintained an account not under his last name (the authenticity of the account was confirmed by Ageev’s acquaintances) and was there, in particular, in the group “4th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the NM LPR.”
There, as well as under his own name on his page on the Odnoklassniki network, he published in April and May several photographs of himself with military intelligence symbols, as well as several photographs of himself in positions with weapons and without identification marks.
The minimum contract period for privates in the Russian army is two to three years, for officers and warrant officers - five years. Late last year, a law was passed allowing military personnel to enter into "short-term contracts" but only during "extraordinary circumstances" or during operations "to maintain or restore peace."
In personal correspondence with one of his former colleagues, which was reviewed by the BBC Russian Service, Viktor Ageev, when asked if he was in Ukraine, replied: “Yes, in Ukraine.” And in response to a friend’s clarifying question about what he was doing there, he wrote: “Contract worker. They pay enough.”
The BBC Russian service contacted Viktor Ageev’s mother, Svetlana, who identified her son’s documents in the documents at the disposal of the Ukrainian armed forces.
“I’m worried because he hasn’t contacted me for a very long time,” said Svetlana Ageeva. “The last time he called me was on May 30.”
According to her, on March 18, 2017, her son signed a contract; her son’s new place was Bataysk, Rostov region, where the 22nd separate guards special-purpose brigade of the GRU of the Russian General Staff was stationed.
Svetlana Ageeva said that no one from the command has yet contacted the family of the captured serviceman.
“I myself didn’t write down the unit number anywhere, so I don’t even know where to call,” she explained. “We tried to join a group on VKontakte for relatives of those serving in Bataysk, but so far we haven’t found out anything. He called himself.” We only have one or two trips from there."
In response to a clarifying question whether her son said that he would have to carry out combat missions on the territory of Ukraine, Svetlana Ageeva replied: “He [said] in a veiled manner. But I was fooling myself. It seemed that since I was near the border, my thoughts were bad. And he said: we study, we study, we work, we work.”
According to interlocutors of the BBC Russian Service in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the captured serviceman is currently transferred to the Security Service of Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense did not comment on the BBC on Tuesday about the news that contract soldier Viktor Ageev was captured on Ukrainian territory.
Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that Russian military personnel are not taking part in hostilities in eastern Ukraine.
Russian soldier Viktor Ageev, captured near the village of Zhelobok, in the first ten minutes of interrogation, told all the information about his commanders and the positions of the militants.
Journalist Andrei Tsaplienko reported this on his Facebook page.
Andrey Tsaplienko noted that the target of the Ukrainian soldiers was not Ageev, but another Russian citizen, Alexander Shcherba, known as “Instructor Alex.”
Viktor Ageev (far right) and his accomplice came to Ukraine to “kill dill.” Photo: Facebook
“Viktor Ageev and his friends, who came to the Luhansk region to “hunt dill.” A separate reconnaissance company of the so-called “4 separate motorized rifle brigade.” Now this “glorious unit” actually does not exist. After the reconnaissance group together with Ageev was taken over by their Ukrainian, so to speak, colleagues, there were simply no people willing to command the separatist reconnaissance company.
I know that a simple soldier has now been appointed to the position of the militants’ company commander. The “high moral level” of these people is evidenced by the fact that Vitya Ageev, in the first ten minutes of the conversation, surrendered all his commanders and positions as “brothers in arms.” Everything I knew.
In the photo, the Russian “ichtamnet” Ageev is positioned on the right. In his hands is an SVD sniper rifle. One of those captured by Ukrainian intelligence officers. However, it is not so much Ageev who is interesting as his commander. Second Russian. Known as Alexander Shcherba. He is also “Instructor Alex”. Died as a result of a short-lived battle.
I just talked with the commander of the unit that carried out a high-profile operation near the Seversky Donets. At first they took four. Then two more came up. Commander Alexander Shcherba and eighteen-year-old fighter Alexander Sukonin.
“What, oh...are you going to take us prisoner?” - Shcherba shouted, trying to unfocus the attention of the Ukrainian intelligence officers. - “I brought you vodka.” And then he opened fire on them.
This is what the Ukrainian commander says about “instructor Alex”: “When the group was surrounded, they were asked to surrender. But Alexander Shcherba offered armed resistance. At the same time, he professionally covered himself with Alexander Sukonin, an eighteen-year-old boy from the city of Rovenki.
Apparently, he had some options to retreat or emerge victorious from the battle. It speaks volumes about their training that they were both wounded, but even when wounded, they fought until they were destroyed.”
Now we know quite a lot about “instructor Alex”, and I think we will share this information soon. We can say that it was Shcherba, and not the rosy-cheeked Ageev, who was the target of our scouts. It’s a pity that I didn’t survive.” — the journalist said.
Illustration copyright Odnoklassniki.ru Image caption Contractor Ageev continued to serve in military intelligence
In the Lugansk region, Russian serviceman Viktor Ageev, who was drafted in the Altai Territory and served under a contract, was captured. Interlocutors in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the command of the 93rd separate mechanized brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine reported this to the BBC.
Viktor Ageev’s mother, his friends and former colleagues confirmed to the BBC Russian Service that after military service, he remained to serve in the army under a contract that he signed in March 2017.
Scout Viktor Ageev, born in 1995, was captured on June 24 near the village of Zhelobok, Slavyanoserbsky district, Lugansk region, as a result of a clash between soldiers of the 93rd separate mechanized brigade and a reconnaissance group of the 4th mechanized brigade of the 2nd army corps of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).
This was reported to the BBC by sources in the 93rd Brigade and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Brigade commander Vladislav Klochkov, commenting on the details of the battle with the “LPR sabotage and reconnaissance group,” said that the commander of this group was killed during the clash. Ukrainian media reported that the dead man was “career Russian officer” Alexander Shcherbak.
Ukrainian military personnel also reported that four LPR fighters were captured, including “a 22-year-old citizen of the Russian Federation, a resident of the Altai Territory.”
The website of the Ukrainian TV channel "24" reported the name of the detainee - Viktor Ageev. This information was confirmed to the BBC by interlocutors in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the 93rd Brigade, providing photographs of his documents.
Photo of the detainee’s passport and military ID also published Journalist of the Ukrainian TV channel ICTV Yulia Kiriyenko is on her Facebook page.
The passport was issued by the local migration service department in May 2016. The military ID was signed by the military commissar for the Topchikhinsky and Kalmansky districts of the Altai Territory, Konstantin Eller.
The commissariat for the Topchikhinsky and Kalmansky district, where the BBC Russian Service contacted for comment, offered to send a letter of request. “We don’t use fax, we don’t have Internet addresses,” said the officer on duty at the commissariat.
As follows from the data on the military ID, in 2015 Viktor Ageev received secondary vocational education at the Altai State College as a third-class electric and gas welder.
The BBC college education department confirmed that they remember such a student, but found it difficult to say how to contact him.
As the BBC learned from two former colleagues of Viktor Ageev, after graduating from Altai State College, in 2015-2016 he served in military unit 65246, stationed in Novocherkassk, Rostov region.
“We served with him in the communications regiment,” said one of the former colleagues on condition of anonymity. “He retired in the summer, and I at the end of 2016. Then he went to serve as a contract in military intelligence, but he wanted to sign the contract in another unit, and I don’t know exactly how things turned out for him.”
Viktor Ageev himself announced that he had entered contract service on his page on the social network VKontakte on April 1. On the social network, he maintained an account not under his last name (the authenticity of the account was confirmed by Ageev’s acquaintances) and was there, in particular, in the group “4th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the NM LPR.”
There, as well as under his own name on his page on the Odnoklassniki network, he published in April and May several photographs of himself with military intelligence symbols, as well as several photographs of himself in positions with weapons and without identification marks.
The minimum contract period for privates in the Russian army is two to three years, for officers and warrant officers - five years. Late last year, a law was passed allowing military personnel to enter into "short-term contracts" but only during "extraordinary circumstances" or during operations "to maintain or restore peace."
In personal correspondence with one of his former colleagues, which was reviewed by the BBC Russian Service, Viktor Ageev, when asked if he was in Ukraine, replied: “Yes, in Ukraine.” And in response to a friend’s clarifying question about what he was doing there, he wrote: “Contract worker. They pay enough.”
The BBC Russian service contacted Viktor Ageev’s mother, Svetlana, who identified her son’s documents in the documents at the disposal of the Ukrainian armed forces.
“I’m worried because he hasn’t contacted me for a very long time,” said Svetlana Ageeva. “The last time he called me was on May 30.”
According to her, on March 18, 2017, her son signed a contract; her son’s new place was Bataysk, Rostov region, where the 22nd separate guards special-purpose brigade of the GRU of the Russian General Staff was stationed.
Svetlana Ageeva said that no one from the command has yet contacted the family of the captured serviceman.
“I myself didn’t write down the unit number anywhere, so I don’t even know where to call,” she explained. “We tried to join a group on VKontakte for relatives of those serving in Bataysk, but so far we haven’t found out anything. He called himself.” We only have one or two trips from there."
In response to a clarifying question whether her son said that he would have to carry out combat missions on the territory of Ukraine, Svetlana Ageeva replied: “He [said] in a veiled manner. But I was fooling myself. It seemed that since I was near the border, my thoughts were bad. And he said: we study, we study, we work, we work.”
According to interlocutors of the BBC Russian Service in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the captured serviceman is currently transferred to the Security Service of Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense did not comment on the BBC on Tuesday about the news that contract soldier Viktor Ageev was captured on Ukrainian territory.
Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that Russian military personnel are not taking part in hostilities in eastern Ukraine.