As a Ukrainian counteroffensive looks more and more imminent, Russian soldiers show ever-increasing interest in the “I Want to Live” project that can help them safely give themselves up to the Ukrainian forces and thus stay alive. Vitaliy Matviyenko, the spokesman for the project, said March 2023 marked a new record for the number of calls on the project hotline – over 3,000, according to Obozrevatel.
“We register a surge in interest in our project,” he said, elaborating that the number of applications per month has more than doubled compared to October to December 2022.
Matviyenko did not exclude that the high surrender rate was due to the huge losses sustained by the aggressors, their worsened morale and their fear of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
He also added that there are Russian servicemen who, after consultations with the “I Want to Live” experts, have managed to surrender and fetch along equipment, including some “interesting” samples of heavy armored vehicles.
The “I Want to Live” project is implemented by the Coordinating Center for POW under the Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate.
