The latest images and videos circulating on social media show Russian soldiers allegedly surrendering to the Ukrainian soldiers in Kherson Oblast.
A video doing rounds on social media shows a group of Ukrainian soldiers stationed along a short section of a dirt road in the Kherson Oblast region. Soon, a Russian BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) approaches the group while bearing a distinctive white cloth tied to its turret, signifying the surrender.
According to reports, demoralized Russian troops that have now been uprooted from regions they occupied as part of the Russian blitzkrieg in Ukraine have been surrendering to save their lives. These mass surrenders and arms laying came when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to conscript his countrymen fit to fight a war.
According to reports, these surrenders have been more frequent, mainly since Putin’s mobilization proclamation was made public on September 21. The mass conscription has triggered protests, widespread flights, and unrest among Russian citizens — specifically from those currently being forced to join the war.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces recently revealed that a hotline set up by Ukraine called ‘I want to Live’ for Russian troops to contact for help on surrendering had received a deluge of calls.
On October 4, Vitaliy Matviyenko, a representative for the hotline, told the British publication the Daily Express that the hotline had already received more than 2,000 applications. Russian army soldiers and their loved ones concerned for their sons’ and husbands’ lives are calling.
“Among other things, we are talking about three meals daily, medical care, and the opportunity to contact relatives. The only chance to avoid death in Ukraine is to surrender,” Matviyenko said.
When Russian soldiers phone the hotline, they are given instructions on how to surrender and assurances that they will be handled under the Geneva Convention.
In late September, a Ukrainian government website called ‘Visit Ukraine’ published a step-by-step guide for Russians who did not want to be drafted into the military to fight and those who wanted to surrender to Ukraine.
The first step read: “By all available means, try to avoid or sabotage the mobilization.”
