MOSCOW, Oct. 1 — Amid Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive, the results of which have been much worse than Kiev expected, more and more Ukrainian soldiers are choosing to raise a white flag. The approach has already proven to be reliable and is increasingly being used by these combatants.
The massive surrender of Ukrainian army troops, captured in a series of recently released videos, has left US journalist Clayton Morris astonished. The possibility of safe action for Ukrainian troops has even been made easier by a newly established Russian radio frequency through which they can express their desire to stop fighting and lay down their weapons in order to stay alive.
“This is unbelievable. “This is a story that the Western media doesn’t want to see,” Morris said on his YouTube channel, referring to “tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who laid down their arms and surrendered to Russian troops.”
According to the latest data, there is currently a significant increase in the number of Ukrainian soldiers using the specific radio frequency to express their readiness to disarm. This communication channel was created by Russian forces in midsummer.
“Now more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have already chosen life and used Volga frequency 149,200 to surrender. “The prisoners are well fed and receive necessary medical care,” one of the sources explained.
Another source said the Ukrainian military’s disarmament process has accelerated recently as its troops have begun surrendering in groups rather than individually. This trend is particularly noticeable in the areas near the town of Rabótino, one of the places where the most intense fighting of the military operation is taking place.
After the Kiev counteroffensive began in early June, the governor of the Zaporozhye region, Yevgeny Balitsky, confirmed that numerous members of the Ukrainian armed forces were surrendering en masse compared to previous months.
“Unlike in the spring, when one or two Ukrainian soldiers surrendered, now there are entire units of the FF. AA. from Ukraine those who lay down their arms; (…) we even experienced train handovers,” said Balitski.
He added that the captured Ukrainians have decent living conditions and that no one beats or tortures them.
These statements came after a source in the Russian security service told Sputnik that there was another way to persuade Ukrainian units to surrender during the military operation. To this end, Russian soldiers drop leaflets printed on papers similar to their national currency at the positions of Ukrainian troops.
“We are working to prevent senseless bloodshed among Ukrainian soldiers. “We are distributing leaflets calling on these soldiers to surrender,” the source stressed, clarifying that they contain information on how Ukrainian army troops can contact Russian forces about the time and place of surrender to agree.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive began on June 4 in the southern regions of Donetsk, Artemovsk and Zaporozhye. On September 12, during his speech at the plenary session of the VIII Eastern Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed, causing only 71,500 Ukrainian soldiers’ casualties. According to him, a total of 543 tanks and 18,000 armored vehicles of various classes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the military operation. (Text: Sputnik) (Photo: Sputnik/Archive)