Ukrainian soldiers' chilling message to Putin's men as they 'prefer to maim and not kill'

As Russia continues to push for territory in eastern Ukraine, the fighting is becoming increasingly bloody. But while both sides endure a high number of losses, one group of Ukrainian soldiers have explained why they are not trying to kill their enemies. Ukraine’s Thor special operations group spoke to The Times while fighting near Zaporizhzhia, the city annexed by Russia after a sham referendum last year.

With ammunition running low and fighting raging across the east of Ukraine, the Thor special operations troops believe maiming, rather than killing, their Russian counterparts is more efficient.

Referring to plastic bottles containing explosives, Ukrainian soldier Aleksander said: “These ones are to wound the Russians.

“Take an arm or a leg, he will be a burden on the state forever. It’s better than killing them. He will remind the Russian people of the cost of Putin’s war. And that they might be next.”

The Thor group consists of 27 soldiers from across Ukraine. They first assembled in Kyiv to defend the capital from Russian tanks in February last year. Many of the men had businesses before joining up to fight in the war.

Ukrainian soldiers fighting in eastern Ukraine

The group’s commander, who also goes by the name of Thor, added: “We select targets in the program, and targets can be placed there both by the CIA satellite and by our own satellite, which our volunteers pay for. Information is collected from all kinds of sources there.

“We choose, then we arrive and conduct our own reconnaissance.

“Our group does not act in the same way as the army does. Because if we act like an army, then we will quickly run out of luck.

“Someone can give an order completely without understanding what he is doing. After all, the army still has a mentality like a hangover from Soviet times.”

The Thor group want to maim Russian soldiers

Zaporizhzhia has been annexed by Russia

Thor is from Berdyansk, a port city also occupied by the Russians. He decided to fight on the Zaporizhzhia in the hope he will be able to return home soon.

He added: “Most of our missions now are bomb drops and artillery adjustments. Our best days are when we can find ammunition for 82mm, 120mm mines, M777 shells and anti-tank guided missiles. Then we launch everything we have.

“We consider ourselves little brothers to the army. They do the main work, we can help. We live in a normal house, eat normal food.

“The army guys sit in the ground underneath, Hell above, and eat rations. That’s tough. We have endless respect for those guys.”

Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine