Ukrainian soldier writes heartfelt letter on Facebook to mother of the Russian soldier after he spared his life

A Ukrainian soldier has become an internet hero after sharing the story of how he spared the life of a Russian soldier in the ongoing conflict on Facebook.

Alexey Chaban described the incident in a touching open letter to the mother of the soldier after he found the Russian's mobile phone.

Chaban shared a picture of the Russian soldier he found on the phone and described how three soldiers where left defenceless when he stopped the Russian tank.

Chaban claims he could have easily killed the men; "we had to just press the button", but he decided to spare them.

In his letter, which has been shared on Facebook more than 18,500 times, he suggests the mother of the unidentified man tells him: "to make a life by depriving other people's lives is not good."

Chaban urges the man to return home and "find another job."

The full text of the letter:

Chaban is a reserve tank officer who voluntarily enlisted in July as the pro-Russian insurgency in the neighboring Donetsk and Luhansk regions became increasingly violent, Reuters has reported.

The father of four left his 250-acre farm behind to join the army.