About 2000 Russian soldiers have called a ‘surrender hotline’ created by the Ukranian government since Vladimir Putin’s announcement of partial mobilisation, it has been revealed.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said 2,000 people had called the ‘I Want To Live’ hotline in recent weeks asking to voluntarily surrender. He said the number of calls have reportedly increased vastly since the Kharkiv offensive and as Russia faces further setbacks in the war.
He told the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper: ‘The hotline has received a lot of calls from Russians who were called up recently, and even from some who haven’t even been called up yet.
‘They’re calling and asking, “What should I do if I get called up? What do I have to do, what’s the right way to surrender?”‘.
While some are new conscripts, others are soldiers weary of fighting against Ukraine.
Yusov’s comments come after new footage emerged showing the moment Russian soldiers attached a white flag to the turret of their tank. The three-man crew then clamber out of the armoured vehicle with their hands up .
Ukraine recaptured three more villages from Russian invaders this week – putting its army within 60 miles of Kherson city, as their advance along the southern front continued.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov vowed Kyiv’s advances would be reversed, and hinted Russia might try to incorporate more Ukrainian regions beyond the four it annexed last week.
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