Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, a soldier from the 2nd Motor Rifle Division said he fears being killed when he is returned to Russia, reported the Daily Telegraph on Thursday.

‘In Russia, we are already considered dead,’ said one of the captured soldiers. ‘I was given the opportunity to call my parents and they told me that a funeral for me had already been arranged.

‘If we are exchanged, then we will be shot by our own people.’

Another captured Russian soldier described on Tuesday how he was shot at by his fellow troops when they tried to protect Ukrainian civilians.