20-year-old contract soldier from Kazakhstan, Sherkhan Yegamberdiyev, who was held captive in Ukraine and released in an Easter exchange, has once again ended up in military unit No. 34494 in the Russian-occupied territory of Donetsk region, reported ASTRA* his sister.
According to her, the family initially thought Sherkhan had gone to work in Russia, but soon discovered he had signed a contract and gone to the front. He himself informed his mother by phone.
The woman said the family still does not know why and under what circumstances Sherkhan signed a contract with the Russian Armed Forces. It is only known that it was done in Orenburg. The young man told the Ukrainian project "I Want to Live" that he signed the contract under police pressure when he was in Russia and was arrested for petty theft.
"I was always against it, so he didn't tell me anything. When he confessed — I scolded him. I wanted to send a taxi for him from Orenburg, but he refused," recalls the sister.
According to the sister, in the combat zone, Sherkhan found himself without money for gear — his mother helped: she "sent money in tears." Payments to the serviceman did not arrive for a month and a half. They only began when the brother was captured.
On September 11, he contacted his family via video call on Whatsapp. At that time, they did not know he had been captured. He did not tell them about it. In the 20s of September, "the deputy political officer called mom through Telegram" and said that Sherkhan was "missing since September 9."
Already released from captivity, Sherkhan's mother met him in Moscow. They were not allowed a meeting, but they talked through the bars of military unit No. 61899 in the village of Mosrentgen, Moscow region, the soldier's sister told ASTRA. She clarified that there is currently no stable connection with her brother: he wrote about the new dispatch to the front himself — he informed that he was on the way and his phone would be taken away. The day before, a message came from him about arriving at the unit.
The unit to which he has now been delivered is No. 34494. This is the same unit where he ended up after signing the contract.
* Recognized as a "foreign agent" in Russia.
Photo: ASTRA