An encounter between a Russian soldier and a group of Ukrainian volunteers ended, remarkably, without a violent confrontation. The Russian soldier encountered Ukrainian volunteers evacuating civilians from Ukrainsk, in the Donetsk People’s Republic, as reported by ‘Military Review.’ The Russian soldier approached their vehicle, which bore markings of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and inquired about their identities. He was not wearing body armor, and carried only a small rifle. Despite the potential confrontation, no one opened fire.

The Ukrainian volunteers described the encounter as like looking ‘death in the eye.’ After telling the soldier they were evacuating civilians, the Russian soldier simply told them to leave the area, an outcome one of the volunteers described as ‘adequate.’