This footage allegedly shows a captured Russian sniper telling Ukrainian police how he had a choice between going to war or going to jail and that he was amazed at how much resistance was shown by the defenders.

The Russian sniper was detained by Ukrainian National Guard soldiers and police in the city of Mariupol, which is located in the Donetsk Oblast region, which is in south-eastern Ukraine, on Sunday, 27th February, the Ukrainian national police told Newsflash today (Wednesday, 2nd March 2022).

Newsflash obtained an official statement from the National police of Ukraine in which they said that “the 28-year-old detainee is a citizen of the Russian Federation.”

They said that the man admitted that he had “come to Ukraine on behalf of the Russian special services.”

They also said that he told them that he had the choice between accepting or going to prison.

In the footage, which Newsflash also obtained from the Ukrainian police, the man says: “I have never been in a war before.

“I went to Sochi after receiving an order from Сolonel Merkhanian. They threatened to put me in prison if I refused [to go to Ukraine]. At first, they sent me to the border between Ukraine and the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’.

“Then they gave me the order to go to Mariupol to capture [the city]. The reason was not explained.”

The Russian soldier explained that he had been surprised at the level of resistance with which they were met. He said: “After encountering the armed forces of Ukraine, I realised that they were much more experienced and stronger.

“I was surprised by how highly trained and well-armed they were. I categorically refuse to continue fighting in Ukraine.

“We did not expect such resistance. Russia’s opinion of Ukraine’s military weakness is wrong”.

The Ukrainian police also said in their statement: “The detainee is charged with Part 3 of Article 110 (Encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine) and Part 3 of Article 332-2 (Illegal crossing of the state border of Ukraine) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

“Police and other members of Ukraine’s security forces continue to work to detain the Russian occupiers.

“Restraining enemy troops and protecting our state is the main task of law enforcement and every Ukrainian.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been widely condemned around the world, with US President Joe Biden becoming the latest world leader to label the Russian despot “a dictator”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov have also used the term.

The European Union announced on Tuesday 1st March that it is accepting Ukraine’s candidacy to join the EU. The announcement was met with waves of applause in the European Parliament.

The move comes after Russia invaded Ukraine last Thursday (24th of February), sparking outrage the world over and unprecedented sanctions designed to cripple the Russian economy and impede its war machine.

The Russian government still refuses to call the war in Ukraine “a war”, insisting that it is a “special operation”. But some brave Russians are speaking out, risking arrest to protest a war they do not want. Among them is the investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta, run by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, 60, who recently said that they would “continue to call war war”.

This is despite threats from the state media watchdog Roskomnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media).

Ukraine has again reiterated its request to NATO to close the skies over Ukraine, stressing that children are being killed by Russian violence.

The Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday, 2nd March, that more than 2,000 civilians have been killed so far in Russia’s invasion. They also claim to have killed nearly 6,000 Russian soldiers.

Peace talks will resume on Wednesday evening between Russia and Ukraine, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

There have been growing calls on social media for NATO to take direct action against Putin. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was confronted during a press conference in Warsaw, in Poland, by a tearful Daria Kaleniuk, the executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, in a moving exchange in which she accused the West of failing to protect Ukraine. She said: “You are talking about the stoicism of the Ukrainian people.

“But Ukrainian women and Ukrainian children are in deep fear because of bombs and missiles which are going through the sky. And Ukrainian people are desperately asking for the West to protect our sky. We are asking for a no-fly zone.”

Kaleniuk later reiterated her position and told Sky News the West must find the strength to stand up to Putin.

The news agency Reuters reported this morning that Mariupol was under heavy shelling.