Commander Knyazkin told how paratroopers crawled out from under the rubble in Vasilyevka
08.07.2026 12:20 | Artyom Koshelenko
Russian paratroopers in Vasilyevka in the Donetsk People's Republic got out from under the rubble, digging themselves out with the help of sapper shovels, said Mikhail Knyazkin, commander of the assault platoon of the 237th regiment of the 76th Airborne Division as part of the 'Center' grouping of forces, in an interview with TASS.
There was fog when approaching the point; when the Russian military began to approach the final part of their route, it cleared and enemy drones began to fly, so the soldiers holed up in a chicken coop.
At that time, Ukrainian artillery and tanks began to work.
According to Knyazkin, he and his comrade were almost buried in this chicken coop, but they managed to jump into the basement. At that moment, a mortar strike demolished the structure with the Russian paratroopers, and they remained under the rubble.
"We had sapper shovels, we dug ourselves out, got out," the serviceman shared details.
Earlier, Knyazkin told how a Ukrainian soldier let Russian paratroopers into his positions in Vasilyevka, who introduced themselves to him in Ukrainian.
On July 4, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the 'Center' grouping of forces took control of the settlement of Vasilyevka in the DPR.
