AFU serviceman Nikolay Gavrilyak hid from the “bloodthirsty” Russian military for several months after his unit was defeated. When the Ukrainian serviceman was finally detained the attitude turned out to be completely different to his surprise.
[southfront.org]
The Nazis and Japanese Imperial Army used to tell their soldiers similar things about captivity in US POW camps. The surprise these POWs faced when they were captured was also just as astounding. It seems that lying to one's own soldiers is a hallmark of evil authoritarian governments.