Russian troops in southern Ukraine are increasingly disappearing without a trace, according to Serhii Bratchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, according to Armiia TV.
Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the right-bank part of the region, including the city of Kherson, in the fall of 2022, while the left-bank area, located on the opposite side of the Dnipro River, remains temporarily occupied by Russian troops.
He says the phenomenon affects not only the active combat zone on the Kherson islands but also the rear areas on the left bank, where occupiers, including looters, are suddenly “evaporating.”
“This is no longer the Bermuda Triangle, but the Kherson Triangle. And as we can see, it works. Every day this past week, someone disappears,” Bratchuk says with irony.
The most recent case has been reported in Russia’s 24th Motor Rifle Regiment, when six soldiers were declared missing in action. There were no reported clashes, raising suspicions of Ukrainian partisan activity or desertions from demoralized units.
“Perhaps it’s the work of partisans. Perhaps they’re choosing to ‘disappear’ on their own. But the fact remains: there are fewer Russians, and that suits us just fine,” the Ukrainian spokesperson sums up.
Earlier, the pro-Ukrainian partisan group Atesh reported that several Russian National Guard soldiers, reportedly involved in looting, mysteriously disappeared under unclear circumstances in the Russian-occupied city of Nova Kakhovka in Kherson Oblast.
The group added that the Russian occupiers are confident in their impunity, using the checkpoints as a means to rob the local population. However, things are not always going according to their plan.