Pro-Ukrainian ‘partisans’ offer to hand over prisoners to Belgorod governor Gladkov; Gladkov calls them ‘bastards’ and ‘fascists’ in response

On June 4, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) posted a video addressed to Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, “inviting [Gladkov] to a dialogue at the church in [the border town of] Novaya Tavolzhanka.” The fighters in the video say that they’re prepared to hand two prisoners over to Gladkov “as a gesture of goodwill.” They asked the governor to come to Novaya Tavolzhanka in an ambulance, unaccompanied except for the ambulance driver and unarmed. The footage shows two prisoners, reportedly Russian servicemembers from the Tver and Pskov regions. One of the prisoners is lying on a hospital bed with an IV hookup nearby.

It took Gladkov several hours to comment on the video. During that time, Wagner Group founder Evgeny Prigozhin spoke up, saying that “if no one goes to the designated place to get the prisoners, I’m prepared to send a high-ranking deputy to get them.” He added that “If Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky goes to the meeting spot, I’ll go myself.” 

When Gladkov did comment on the RDK’s invitation, it was with a video of his own, in which he said that he’d seen the message from the “bastards, scoundrels, murderers, and fascists.”

The governor confirmed that the RDK are in Novaya Tavolzhanka, where a battle is ongoing. “I hope that they’ll all be destroyed. By definition, it can’t be otherwise,” he said.

Gladkov added that the prisoners who appeared in the RDK’s video were “most likely killed.” If they’re alive, said the Belgorod governor, he’d meet meet with RDK representatives at the Shebekino border checkpoint between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. local time. “I’ll guarantee security,” said Gladkov.