Brezhnev's great-grandson joined Russia's invasion, captured in Ukraine: 'Nazi threat is a myth'

Anton Milaev, 45, the adopted great-grandson of Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, took part in Russia's war against Ukraine and was captured by Ukrainian forces in spring 2026. On July 6, the 'I Want to Live' project, which encourages Russian soldiers to surrender, published an interview with him.

Milaev is the biological grandson of circus performer Yevgeny Milaev, the first husband of Brezhnev's daughter Galina. The Telegram channel Baza, linked to Russian security services, reported on June 18 that Milaev had been captured, citing his mother that Galina Brezhneva raised him as her own.

In the interview, Milaev said he had long hidden his family connection to Brezhnev and preferred to be an ordinary person. He spent 19 years in the United States starting in the 1990s, working low-skilled jobs, before returning to Russia in the mid-2010s because he was 'tired of living there and working for the Masons.' He spoke positively about the Soviet Union, saying 'there was a country, and now there's chaos.'

Before the war, Milaev lived in Moscow and worked as a truck driver. He went to war in 2025 for money—to repay a debt of 1 million rubles. He signed a contract in Kostroma and received 1.4 million rubles. He initially planned to work as a driver at the front but ended up in an assault unit.

Milaev had no prior military experience. His training in the occupied Luhansk region lasted only three weeks, and he was captured about two months after arriving at the front.

He said he had previously 'wanted to see Nazis' in Ukraine but realized the stories were false after reaching the front. 'I think that to change your mind about this war, everyone needs to be here,' he stated.

Leonid Brezhnev was born in Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro). He served throughout World War II, rising from reserve regimental commissar to major general. As a political officer, he participated in liberating many Ukrainian cities from the Nazis, including Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Lviv, Mukachevo, and Uzhhorod.