Exclusive | The Post went inside a Ukrainian POW camp for Russian troops who revealed why they signed up to fight in a war they dont support

WESTERN UKRAINE — Thousands of Russian soldiers taken captive by Ukraine are receiving the best medical care and food they ever have in their lives — and none of those interviewed by The Post say they support the war.The Post last week went inside the largest of Ukraine’s five camps for Russian POWs hundreds of miles from the front lines to speak with prisoners about their treatment at the facility, their views on the bloody conflict and how they ended up fighting in it.Most of the more than 25 Russian soldiers who spoke to The Post said they only joined the war to provide for their families.If you’re willing to become cannon fodder, it’s an instant job, explained a 20-year-old soldier with a wife and four children to support.Their time as POWs in Ukraine is in stark contrast to that of the thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of Russia who are regularly beaten to the point of brain damage and broken bones and starved so they appear as gaunt as Holocaust victims upon release — that is, if they aren’t shot first, according to testimonies and photos of survivors.The Ukrainian camp is calm: No sudden movements, no sadness or happiness, either.While a few of the captured Russian soldiers sat and played chess with one another, no obvious camaraderie was seen between them.But despite their stoic faces, the prisoners here know they are the “lucky” ones, said Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs spokesman Petro Yatsenko.

For every one Russian troop captured, roughly a thousand more have been killed in the war.Since the war’s start, Ukrainian soldiers has been killing Russians on a scale of roughly three to one, according to Ukraine.

Kyiv is currently taking out about 1,000 Russian fighters each day, Yatsenko said.The Russian prisoners at the camp know they are not only lucky to have survived the carnage, they also realize the care they are receiving is worlds better than what their Ukrainian counterparts get.The Russians’ broken...