‘I had no idea he was there’: families’ shock at video of captured Russian soldiers

Ukrainian officials have published dozens of videos of what they say are captured Russian soldiers, as the brutal fighting in Ukraine enters its fourth day.

In one of the videos, published early on Sunday morning on the Telegram channel Find Your Own, set up by Ukraine's interior ministry, a visibly injured soldier identifies himself as Leonid Paktishev, the commander of a sniper unit based in the Rostov region.

The Telegram channel, which first went live on Saturday, has posted numerous videos and photos showing captured Russian troops, which have led to an outcry from their families who say they were shocked to find out about the involvement of their loved ones in the invasion of Ukraine.

The Guardian spoke to three family members who confirmed the identity of Paktishev and said they were shocked and angry when they found out after seeing the video that their loved one had been captured.

"I was sent the video of my brother captured at 2am last night. I was completely shocked. I had no idea that he was fighting in there," said Yelena Polivtseva, the sister of Paktishev.

In the video, Paktishev, from the small town of Mezdhurechenskiy in western Siberia, said he led a team of three other snipers.

"I knew Leonid was in the military, but I had no idea that he was sent to Ukraine. I don't think he would have been aware of it either," said Polivtseva, who went by her maiden name.