# Captured Ukrainian-born soldiers tell BBC why they fought for Russia

https://mins.news/en/item/26945

- BBC News, 2026-08-20 05:01 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn9nr195drzo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

> At a prisoner-of-war camp in western Ukraine, several soldiers born in Ukraine say they fought for Russia because they regarded themselves as defending their homeland. Kyiv tries its captured citizens for treason but holds them alongside Russian prisoners, while occupation, Russian schooling and Kremlin-controlled media have blurred their national identity.

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