Watch moment Putin stormtroopers surrender en masse after...

AFTER being holed up for three days in a trench surrounded by Ukrainian troops, a group of Russian soldiers surrendered as morale hits an all-time-low. Extraordinary footage shows nine Russian assault troops holding a white flag on a stick, and snaking towards a Ukrainian stronghold in Donetsk region after Ukrainian forces lured them out with drones. Ukrainian fighters used a speaking drone to secure the surrender of a group of Russian soldiers on the front line.

Image Credit: The Sun [Aerial view of a Russian military unit surrendering to Ukrainian forces in a trench.]

The Putin stormtroopers were not ready to die for the dictator in what could be the final weeks of the war, it seems, as one captured Russian revealed how they were becoming beaten down. The Russian troops were demoralised by the appalling number of corpses of their own side, according to testimony from POWs. They also highlighted how quickly after deployment to the front lines they end up in Ukrainian hands.

Image Credit: The Sun [Aerial view of a large group of Russian soldiers surrendering to Ukrainian forces.]

One revealed he had only been fighting less than two-weeks before his capture and the final days of this short stint were spent hopelessly surrounded by enemy fighters. After trapping the Russian troops, Ukraine buzzed them in their trenches with the loud-speaker aerial drone encouraging them for three days to surrender. Members of Ukraine’s 25th Separate Airborne Sicheslav Brigade recorded the messages in Russian to offer the enemy fighters a way to save their lives.

Image Credit: The Sun [A person uses a drone controller to order a Russian unit to surrender.]

The message told them repeatedly: "Surrender if you want to live. Walk towards the railway.". “The brigade's fighters tried to use a drone with a loudspeaker, which convinced the Russians to surrender for three days, and this eventually worked,” said a statement. “The Russians themselves were extremely demotivated - according to one of the prisoners, he crossed the border with Ukraine less than a month ago, and was immediately stunned by the number of corpses of his fellow countrymen.”.

Image Credit: The Sun [Illustration of a proposed Ukraine peace plan, showing a map with troop deployments and key terms.]

An Ukrainian fighter said: “We always get new devices, and when this ‘talker’ [drone with loud speaker] appeared we recorded a message to encourage the Russians to surrender. “It worked well. We flew the drone around for about three days with different messages, continuously playing them for different groups.”. The drone trumpeted the message: “Walk towards the railway.”. “Everyone who was supposed to storm us, we pressed until they gave in,” said a Ukrainian.

Image Credit: The Sun [Surrender of a Russian unit to Ukrainian forces.]

“Everyone is coming to us, completely surrendering. “That’s it, our men have already taken them in.…What a sight! Nine people.”. Drone footage shows the nine uneasy Russian soldiers slowly emerging from their trench waving a white flag on a stick and holding their arms in the air. A deflated Russian fighter explained why he obeyed the drone loudspeaker call to surrender. “Our side were putting [the bodies] in pile after pile, quickly checking military ID tag, and then driving [the corpses] away,” he said.

Image Credit: The Sun [A Ukrainian soldier describes using a drone to urge a Russian unit's surrender in the Donetsk region.]

“There were so many trucks deployed to do it. “It broke me down, the realisation of just how many [killed] there were….”. One of the captives made clear he wanted to be swapped - and then get away from the war in Russia’s wild taiga. “Yes, I do hope to be exchanged, and I hope to somehow be done with it, to go into the wilderness or I don’t know what,” he said. “I crossed the border with Ukraine on 22 January 2025 in the Donetsk region, and here I am in less than two weeks.”.

Image Credit: The Sun [Russian POW describes disposing of bodies.]

It comes as the future of the conflict is uncertain, with a possible peace deal arrange between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on the horizon. But President Zelensky has said his country will not accept a deal negotiated between Trump and Putin without Ukraine's involvement. The fate of the country is hanging in the balance as world powers meeting in Munich and tensions continue to mount.

Image Credit: The Sun [A surrendering Russian soldier in the Donetsk region.]

On Wednesday night, Trump announced immediate negotiations to end the war in Ukraine after speaking with Putin by phone for 90 minutes. But Zelensky has warned the West against trusting Putin amid fears his embattled nation is being frozen out of peace talks with Russia. He has been backed by allies including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who insisted that Ukraine must play a central role in negotiations to end the three-year conflict.

Image Credit: The Sun [Close-up of Donald Trump.]

Meanwhile, Trump is continuing to push on seemingly ignoring fellow leaders and warning from Ukraine to arrange a meeting with Putin in Saudi Arabia as he says he wants Russia back in G7 group. The European Commission has fired a warning to the White House about continuing to show engagement with Russia. President Ursula von der Leyen said: "A failed Ukraine would weaken Europe but it would also weaken the United States.".

Image Credit: The Sun [Volodymyr Zelensky on a phone call.]

She insisted that any peace deal needs to be lasting to ensure "the horrors of the last three years are never repeated again.". Donald Trump has a history of positive and admiring comments about strongman Vladimir Putin. They have long prompted criticism from his rivals that he is "soft on Russia". Trump rejects that, saying that no US president was ever tougher on Moscow and that a US president needs a relationship with the Russian leader.