Ukrainian soldier in liberated town says killing Russians is 'like a sport now'
- A Ukrainian soldier in a liberated town said that killing Russian forces is "like a sport now."
- Volodymyr Demchenko described what it was like killing Russian forces during an interview with CNN.
A Ukrainian soldier in a small town that was liberated after a weeks-long Russian occupation amid the Kremlin's war with Ukraine said that killing Russian forces is "like a sport now."
Soldier Volodymyr Demchenko described killing Russian forces during a recent interview with CNN in Novyi Bykiv, a town located in the Chernihiv region and is about 50 miles east of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
CNN reported that Demchenko was on the drone team that successfully helped to take back Novyi Bykiv from Russian forces.
"You know, it's funny to see…it's not funny to see, it's actually very strange when you see people being killed and you're like, 'Yeah!" Demchenko told CNN as he raised his arms in the air.
He added that it's a "very weird feeling to be honest, but it's like a sport now, I don't know."
"They don't come to us with flowers," Demchenko told CNN in reference to Russian troops.
Though Novyi Bykiv has been liberated, the town is still reeling from the destruction and losses it endured amid its occupation by Russian forces.
Demchenko told CNN that his home was hit by Russian strikes, but his life was spared because he was outside at the time of the attack.
The soldier pointed out where Russian troops were killed as he showed CNN's Erin Burnett around the village.
"There was a boot here and there was another with leg," said Demchenko. "There was not dead bodies, it was just the pieces of dead bodies."
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and the war has since left thousands dead on both sides, including many Ukrainian civilians.
In recent weeks, Russia has focused its attacks in Ukraine on the eastern Donbas region after Russian troops failed to take Kyiv and other major cities.