Russian Forces Abandoning Their Vehicles and Surrendering, Videos Show

Footage shared on social media shows military vehicles apparently abandoned by Russian soldiers, some of whom are seen surrendering to Ukrainian forces.

Images tweeted by open-source intelligence monitor, OSINT Defender and the Ukraine Information Army show destroyed equipment they say belongs to the Russian army.

OSINT Defender tweeted that Russian forces were reported to have abandoned an outpost in the Sumy Region and fled into the woods during the night, leaving military vehicles behind.

Among these were BMPs, the workhorse Russian infantry fighting vehicle, BTR-80 armored personnel carriers and MT-LB armored tracked vehicles. "There is no indication as to why [the Russian forces] fled," it tweeted.

Images shared on Twitter and on News outlet NEXTA's Telegram channel show a destroyed column of Russian machinery in Borodyanka near Kyiv.

Ukraine Weapons Tracker tweeted an image of a tank captioned: "Russian T-72B obr. 1989 was abandoned with fuel and in fully working condition. The reason is unclear."

The same Twitter account shared a number of other images of apparently abandoned Russian hardware. One showed "a modern T-72B3 obr. 2016, on the side of which we can now see 'Glory to Ukraine' written. Location is unknown."

In another tweet, Ukraine Weapons Tracker posted images it said were of "more vehicles of the Russian 4th Guards Tank Division, destroyed and abandoned in #Sumy."

These were "a 152mm Msta-S self-propelled howitzer, 1V13 command vehicle, T-80U tank and logistical trucks."

It also showed video of Ukrainian civilians examining an abandoned Russian 9P149 Shturm-S motorized anti-tank vehicle.

Accompanying other images of abandoned vehicles in the North Poltova region, the Ukraine Information Army said that "the Russians continue to dump equipment and run away."

Telegram also showed pictures of soldiers, some with their hands on their heads, marching down a road. "Russian POWs near Kharkiv, with what appear to be SSh-60 steel helmets," OSINT Technical tweeted in sharing the clip.

OSINT Defender said of the same clip that the "around 20 POWS" were "most likely heading towards additional transportation" to be taken to internment camps "somewhere in the west of the country."

Moscow has now deployed up to three-quarters of its invasion force amid intense fighting across the Ukraine, the BBC reported, and there are unconfirmed estimates that over 5,700 Russian troops have been killed or wounded.

A huge convoy of Russian armored vehicles, tanks and artillery is advancing on Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky got a standing ovation following a speech to the European Union on Tuesday in which he said "we are fighting for our life."

Follow our live blog for updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Update 03/01/22, 11:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.