The occupiers were promised a short triumphal march, awards and ‘mountains of gold’. Instead, they turned out to be ‘expendable material’.

In the SSU video, captured invaders tell how their army turned into looters.

One contractor says his battalion was given task to get from Belarus to Kyiv in 5 days and capture three bridges. Instead, to survive, he surrendered after 40 days of wandering about.

He says that his colleagues knew no limits in committing atrocities and looting: they stole household appliances, inflatable boats, jewellery.

The captive paramedic felt no one actually needed him: ‘I provided medical assistance to a colleague, but no one came to pick us up, they just forgot about us. After that, there was nothing left to do, but surrender.’

However, he realized that here ‘people live their lives and don’t want our liberation.’

Another occupier shares his thoughts with his mother: ‘We are no f**king liberators. We invaded this land… I can’t explain to myself what I forgot here. I was chasing after big money like an idiot.’