Russian City Mayor Captured Near Bakhmut

• 25.09.2023, 12:46

He was serving in the Russian Army for less than three weeks.

In battles with the invaders near the village of Klishchiivka, close to Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces captured the former Russian mayor. According to Gordon, the State Border Service announced this on September 25 on Telegram.

In the published video, the man introduces himself as Vitaly Tretyakov, born in 1975. From 2014 to 2019, he headed the city of Tchaikovsky (Perm Region of Russia) and was a member of the City Council.

On September 7, he voluntarily signed a contract with the Russian MoD to serve in the army of the aggressor country.

“They assigned me to the 78th Regiment of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division and sent me to Lysychansk, where I underwent training for a week or a bit more. We were sent to the area of the village of Klishchiivka without registration within a military unit,” the occupier said.

The former mayor told border guards that he came to Ukraine “to fight NATO.”

“He didn’t meet NATO troops here, but he admits that the Katsap [term of abuse used of Russians - Ed.] propaganda is lying, and Crimea is Ukrainian,” the State Border Guard Service said.

The Sota Russian Telegram channel writes that Tretyakov was sentenced to three years for exceeding his authority when transferring an apartment to an administration employee, and was released on parole in 2020. In the video from captivity, Tretyakov does not talk about his criminal case, explaining only that he resigned from his post because “he had no purpose to be in politics.”