The young soldier threw down his weapon and called his mother

In deeply moving video footage, a surrendered Russian soldier can be seen breaking down in tears as Ukrainian civilians gave him tea and food and helped him video call his mother.

The soldier is seen in a short video posted to Twitter, shaking with tears as he sips a hot cup of tea and eats a pasty.

The footage goes on to show the POW being comforted by a group of local women after surrendering. One of the women tells him “everything his OK” while patting him on the back.

After calling his mother he immeditaely bursts into shuddering sobs and his mother can be heard assuring him that “everything will be okay, my son.”

A male voice off camera is heard saying: “These young men, it’s not their fault. They don’t know why they are here.

“They are using old maps, they are lost.”

The now viral video was captioned: ‘Russian soldiers, surrender, Ukrainian people will feed you, just surrender.’

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy described the invading forces yesterday as: “not warriors of the superpower, these are confused children who were used.”

He added: “All the captives say only one thing: they do not know why they are here. Despite the fact that there are dozens of times more than them, the morale of the enemy is constantly deteriorating.”

This comes as a huge column of Russian military vehicles continue to be stationed outside Kyiv. There is ongoing confusion as to when the tanks plan to attack the city; a US defence official suggested the convoy appeared to have “stalled”, there was also speculation that the estimated 15,000 troops attached to it may be regrouping, and waiting for logistical supplies before an assault on Kyiv.

Speaking in a news conference earlier this afternoon Zelenskyy said direct talks with Vladimir Putin are “the only way to stop this war”.

“We are not attacking Russia and we do not plan to attack it. What do you want from us? Leave our land,” he said, before emploring Putin to “sit down with me”.

In reponse to Nato’s ongoing refusal to impose a no-fly zone, Zelenskyy appealed t the West to send him warplanes instead.

“If you do not have the power to close the skies [enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine], then give me planes,” he urged.

“If we are no more then, God forbid, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia will be next.”

Those countries are part of the Nato defence alliance, which means if Russia invaded one it would be at war with all members.

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