A captured resident of Babruysk told how, after drinking with acquaintances in a sauna, he went to fight for Russia along with them
Siarhei Taras worked on construction sites and was also a cook. After a joint drinking session in the company of a former Wagner mercenary, he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Now the man is in Ukrainian captivity and hopes for an exchange.
Siarhei Taras shared his story with Aliaksandr Kabanau in a special episode of the BelPol YouTube channel.
According to Siarhei, in recent years he traveled to Smolensk for work. He notes that he previously studied in Kyiv. In his youth, he was convicted of theft. The man does not state his age, but says he has a younger brother who is 50 years old. His mother is also waiting for him at home; before this video was released, she only knew that her son was missing.
As Siarhei recalls, in 2024 he met acquaintances in a sauna.
«There was one Belarusian, one former Wagner mercenary. We were drinking there, and they invited me. (…) I don't remember the conditions. I was drunk. (…) He says: let's go with us. They were on leave. They were going back to their unit,» Taras recounts.
After this drunken conversation, the man went with his acquaintances to a military unit in the Smolensk region, where he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. According to him, he later received about 4 million Russian rubles (about $55,000 at the current exchange rate) in payments, which remained on his bank card. He now has no access to this money.
When asked about his motivation, the man replies:
«I was born in the Soviet Union. I believe that we are, as it were, one country.»
Taras claims that he initially did not understand that he would have to kill Ukrainians, but once he reached the front line, he realized «that he had to fight here.»
After signing the contract, Siarhei underwent two weeks of military training as a rifleman in a training unit in the Smolensk region, and then another two weeks in the Luhansk region.
«We were recruited into assault companies,» he says.
According to the mercenary, he did not actively participate in combat operations.
«I was in entrenched positions. We had no direct contact [with the enemy]. We were guarding.»
Siarhei names heavy drone attacks, which the soldiers called «Baba Yaga,» as one of the most terrifying moments of the war. These drones drop 82-millimeter mortar shells.
«When you're sitting in a pit, you have nothing. And they practically drop it right on you,» Taras says, claiming to have seen heavy losses among the soldiers he served with.
His participation in the war ended with his capture, but the man does not disclose the circumstances under which he fell into Ukrainian hands.
While in Ukrainian captivity, Siarhei Taras hopes to be exchanged.
When asked whether Belarus needs people like him, Siarhei remarks: «Well, I don't know. 'Wagner' is present in Belarus, after all.»
To compatriots who might consider participating in the war, he advises:
«Let them think before doing anything. Not with a drunken head, but with a sober one. War is death. A person should really think that he is not just going there, but going to die.»
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