Over 400 Ukrainian soldiers fled into Russia

More than 400 of Ukraine’s soldiers were forced to retreat across the Russian border after encountering difficulties while fighting against rebels.

The government troops were engaged in a several hour fight against rebels in the eastern part of Ukraine when they ran out of ammunition. The soldiers were then forced to abandon their positions and retreat further and further, eventually crossing the border into Russia.

One soldier said that they had been well received by Russians and they were given food and water: ‘Today there was another attack, there were direct threats. We simply had no choice. We had to retreat. But we were received here well, given food, water.’

After negotiations with Kiev officials, 180 of Ukraine’s troops had been retrieved back to their country. The fate of the rest remains unclear.