Great-Grandson of Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev Taken Prisoner While Fighting for Russian Army

Ukrainian forces have captured Anton Milaev, the 45-year-old adopted great-grandson of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, Babel reported on June 19.

He was captured while he was fighting as part of the Russian military.

The high-profile capture was initially reported by Russian media channels and subsequently corroborated by sources within Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Babel wrote.

Milaev, who is the adopted grandson of Brezhnev’s daughter Galina, signed a military contract with the Russian Armed Forces in the autumn of 2025 and was deployed to the front lines as a combat sapper, according to Babel.

Shortly after his deployment, the 45-year-old ceased all communication with his relatives in November 2025. His family later received official notification that Milaev is currently being held as a prisoner of war in the Ukrainian-controlled sector of the southern Kherson region, according to the publication.

Babel notes that the combat deployment of Milaev draws a historical parallel to his family’s political legacy, as his great-grandfather previously orchestrated the Soviet Union’s 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.

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Life in Ukraine

Why Would Ukraine Want Independence? The Forgotten History of Russian Aggression

Aug 22, 2025 15:13

On August 20, 1968, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia with approximately 200,000 troops and 5,000 tanks to violently crush the “Prague Spring"—a brief period of political liberalization, anti-censorship, and democratic reform initiated by Czechoslovak leader Alexander Dubček.

The overwhelming military intervention halted the reforms, leading to the immediate occupation of the country and the eventual installation of a strict, pro-Soviet government, Britannica wrote.

NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone recently stated that Moscow’s imperial ambitions extend far beyond geopolitical boundaries, to the reclamation of former Soviet territories.

Emphasizing that defeating Russia depends on total military and economic exhaustion, Dragone noted that Russian forces are losing roughly 35,000 soldiers monthly in Ukraine—a severe casualty toll that already surpasses total Soviet losses from the entire decade-long war in Afghanistan.

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