92nd Assault Brigade fighters recount 12 days in encirclement: 'Everyone thought we were missing'

The Pokrovsk sector became a true trial for soldiers of the 92nd Assault Brigade: a group of Ukrainian troops found themselves fully surrounded by the enemy — cut off from communications, wounded, and under constant shelling. Despite this, they held out for 12 days and managed to break free.

The defenders who survived the encirclement shared their story in an interview with Ukrinform.

"The fear turned out to be greater than the path itself. We were afraid of running into the Russians at any moment, but we decided not to surrender and to keep destroying the enemy," recalled a soldier with the call sign Cooper.

"When everyone thought we had gone missing, we were sitting in a basement, taking turns on watch and even making coffee from melted snow. That kept us going," added his comrade West.

According to them, Russian troops repeatedly entered the yards and basements — but never came back. "A dozen went in — and we never saw them again," the soldiers said.

Despite injuries and a shortage of ammunition, they held their ground. Aid arrived from the air: Ukrainian drones dropped essential supplies and a map showing the escape route. On the decisive night, Ukrainian artillery struck enemy positions, and under drone cover the group broke out of the encirclement.

"I had complete faith in my brothers-in-arms. They're like family to me. Without that trust, there's no point in doing anything there," West said.

For this operation, the fighters were awarded the Orders "For Courage." But the most important thing, they said, was that they survived and returned to their comrades.

As reported earlier, a Ukrainian soldier managed to survive a severe injury while being held in Russian captivity.