Krystyna Kazakova02:26, ​​07.07.26

He lived in New York and worked as a handyman.

Anton Milaev, the great- grandson of Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, was captured by Ukrainian soldiers in the Kherson region. In an interview with the “I Want to Live” project , he spoke about his life in New York and why he went to war against Ukraine.

Anton Milaev lived in the United States for 19 years. He lived in New York and worked as a handyman. However, he never received a green card, so he decided to return to Russia.

Milaev explained that he was tired of “working for the Freemasons,” and besides, he missed his homeland.

After returning to Russia, the man accumulated debts amounting to 1 million rubles, and money was the main motive for going to war. 

It is indicated that last year, Milaev decided to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, for which he was paid 1.4 million rubles in one-time assistance.

In addition, the man explained his desire to participate in the war against Ukraine with propaganda.

“We wanted to see the Nazis,” Milayev shared.

When asked by the journalist whether he had seen them in Ukraine, the man answered in the negative.

“No, we didn’t see it. But we only found out about it when we got here. I think everyone here needs to change their minds about this war,” the prisoner said.

Like all other contract soldiers, Milaev hoped for a quiet service. In particular, he hoped to get a driver’s position in the rear units, but instead, after three weeks of training in the occupied Luhansk region, he was sent to the assault battalion of the 98th Airborne Division.

He and other occupiers were transferred to the Kherson region and given the task of crossing the Dnieper. Milaev describes this raid as hopeless.

“It is practically impossible to survive. The bodies of the dead are not evacuated, and they are eaten by wild animals,” the Russian said.

Therefore, only half of his group was able to survive: out of eight people, only four remained. 

Milaev said that he went to the river on his own, and there he surrendered to a Ukrainian drone. He was later detained by soldiers of the 34th Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The great-grandson of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev calls the conditions in Ukrainian captivity “gorgeous” and those that meet all the requirements of international law.

He was able to call his ex-wife. The man said that he hid his origins because he didn’t want anyone to know about his family ties to Brezhnev.

Milaev does not want to return to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange, as he is afraid that he may end up at the front again or that he may be shot because he surrendered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“I hope I can stay here until the war is over,” he concluded.

Milaev is the son of Yevgeny Milaev, the first husband of Galina Brezhneva. His father was a famous circus acrobat and director of the Moscow Circus. The daughter of the Secretary General adopted Yevgeny’s children from his first marriage, as their biological mother died during childbirth. Anton Milaev also began his career in the circus, but his career did not bring him fortune.

(C)UNIAN 2026