Russian soldier who hid from Ukrainian forces for six months arrested

A Russian soldier who had reportedly been hiding for about six months in abandoned buildings after the liberation of the Kharkiv region has been arrested by Ukrainian police.

The solider, a 42-year-old serviceman from the 27th Russian Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, was taken into custody on Monday as regional police officers patrolled villages in the Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi area.

The man, dressed in civilian clothes, was apparently separated from his unit as they fled the Ukrainian counteroffensive last September. It is still unclear how he had managed to hide for the six months since the Russian retreat.

Ukrainian police have not released further details at the moment and the Guardian cannot independently verify the claims.

Thousands of Russian soldiers were caught by surprise with Ukrainian forces rooting them out of hiding in cellars and nearby forests.

Soon after the liberation, Ukrainian authorities had conducted a massive door-to-door search operation forRussian servicemen who had been left behind or who had remained to act as saboteurs.