Despondent Ukranian troops deployed close to Kramatorsk airfield in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine were forced to hand over their ammunition and disable their weapons by pro-Russian protesters.
The humiliating climbdown came despite the earlier efforts of the Ukranian Air Force, who flew a fighter jet at perilously low level over the scene in an attempt at a show of force.
The acting Ukranian president Oleksandr Turchynov had intended the soldiers to conduct "an anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Russian separatists in the region.
After a tense stand-off with protesters, some of whom did not want the soldiers to move on elsewhere in their armoured personnel carriers, they were allowed to leave.
Produced and filmed by Alastair Good
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