Russian paratrooper says it was weeks before he realized that Russia hadn't been attacked and that he had actually invaded Ukraine

• The ex-paratrooper said he didn't understand why his unit invaded the country.

• It took him a long time to realize that Russia wasn't under attack.

• The Kremlin told a story that it started the war to defend itself.

A former Russian soldier who was part of an airborne unit that invaded Ukraine said it took him weeks to realize that his homeland was not in danger.

The 56th Airborne Regiment is part of the country's elite airborne forces. He wrote a 141-page memoir called "ZOV" in reference to the pro-war symbol of Russia. He wrote about his experiences on social media.

In a recent interview with the Guardian from Moscow, Filatyev described how his VDV unit entered Ukraine in late February with no information about objectives and little knowledge about what had started the war.

Filatyev said it took him weeks to realize there was no war on Russian territory.

The Kremlin's propaganda operation tried to sell a lot of baseless narratives to justify military action against Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used false narratives to argue that NATO expansion was a security threat and that Ukraine was committing genocide against ethnic Russians.

Western intelligence warned for weeks that Russia would use false narratives to justify invading Ukraine.

Filatyev described how his elite unit was tired, underfed, and poorly equipped when they invaded Ukraine. He said he was sent to the war with a rusty rifle that broke and jammed.

Filatyev said that when his unit arrived in Kherson, they acted like savages and stole food, computers, valuables, and clothes.

We had already been pushed to the limit. The ex-paratrooper said that most had spent a month in the fields without any comforts.

He wrote that everything around made them feel bad. We were just trying to survive. The details of what happened in Kherson from Filatyev's memoir have not been verified by Insider.

Filatyev said that he was wounded in a battle and had to leave the conflict because his eye was getting very sick. He left Russia this week amid fears that he could be punished for his revelations.

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