A widely shared combat video shows an American volunteer serving with Ukraine’s 63rd Mechanized Brigade calmly capturing four Russian soldiers during a clearing operation in the Serebryansky Forest near Siversk in Donetsk on November 20, 2025. The volunteer, identified by comrades as Bruce, instructs the Russians to kneel, saying “On your knees, please,” before securing them and offering cigarettes.

The footage stands in sharp contrast to the brutality often associated with front-line engagements in the region, highlighting both battlefield discipline and the Ukrainian military’s ongoing push through the heavily contested forest strip. The Serebryansky area has been a grinding flashpoint for months, with dense tree cover, trenches, mines, and close-quarter ambushes defining the fighting.

Bruce’s measured tone — and the moment of shared humanity through cigarettes — has drawn online attention as an example of restraint under fire. Ukrainian commanders say such surrenders are becoming more common as Russian units face exhaustion, isolation, and supply problems.

While the video cannot be independently verified, it reinforces the growing presence of foreign volunteers fighting for Ukraine and the moral messaging Kyiv emphasizes: professionalism, dignity toward prisoners, and adherence to the rules of war.