Captured Ukrainian-born soldiers tell BBC why they fought for Russia0

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• August 20, 2026

All the Ukrainian-born PoWs we interviewed came from areas occupied since 2014 and almost all joined the Russian army voluntarily. But one man from Donetsk region told us he had been forced to fight. His eyes darted around as he talked, unsure who he could trust. One official tally, citing “intelligence”, suggests more than 50,000