In a newly intercepted phone call, a soldier of the Russian army discusses with his wife the possibility of escaping back to Russia. The soldier has deserted and is hiding in occupied Ukrainian territory. He says he is even willing to face trial just to avoid dying in a “meat assault.”
“We need to do something already, I need to get the hell out of here, I don’t know how, f**k, but we need to,” the Russian soldier tells his wife. The call was published by Ukraine’s state project “I Want to Live” [Хочу Жить!] which is designed to facilitate the voluntary surrender of Russian soldiers.
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His wife went to the commandant’s office to find out if he had been declared wanted, only to learn that no one was officially searching for him. Deserters and draft dodgers are easier to catch and forcibly return to their units. Once there, they are often thrown into a punishment pit, sent on deadly missions, or simply executed on the spot.
“Do you understand the situation? They might lock me up, maybe they’ve already listed me as ‘missing,’ and that’s it,” he says, adding, “They might just mark me like that, and if I show up, they’ll just ‘zero me out’ and that’s it. I’ll be as good as dead, like I never existed.”
The soldier adds: “We had people who were gone for 8-10 months, living in Lysychansk. Then they were caught, and that’s it! They weren’t put on trial, they weren’t jailed, just thrown back into the unit! No one even spoke to them! No questions asked, nothing – the commander comes, picks them up, and that’s it! There’s no ‘police’ or ‘authority’ here… there’s nothing.”
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December, 21, 2024
According to him, the key is to cross the Russian border; once there, no one will search for him anymore: “No one looks for those who go on leave. Out of 10 people who leave, only 1 or 2 come back.” But the soldier is still afraid to take the risk.
The state project “I Want to Live” [Хочу Жить!] calls for those in such situations to reach out to them.
“We will get you to a safe place, where no one will ‘zero you out,’ and where the laws actually work,” the project’s statement says.
The project was set up by Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) aimed at helping Russian soldiers to safely surrender to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) and save their lives.
Dissatisfaction is growing among Russia’s troops, as they are increasingly given unrealistic objectives and sent on needlessly dangerous missions by their commanders. In several calls recently intercepted by Ukraine’s military intelligence, individuals discuss ways to avoid further deployment, while Russia’s civilian population is panicked by the fear of being conscripted.
Last year, Kyiv Post interviewed “Maria” who works as a professional eavesdropper for Ukrainian intelligence. She recounted some of the shocking things she hears every day.
Russia regularly dismisses the content of intercepted calls published by Ukraine, saying they are fake, a claim Maria denied.
She said: “Yes, they all are real even though they might seem insane. Sometimes I can’t believe the words I’m hearing myself, but we have what we have.”
In another intercepted phone call, published by Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) on May 14, a Russian commander threatened a soldier that barrier troops would kill him and his comrades if they refused to go on an assault in the Kharkiv region.
Examples of the things Ukrainian eavesdroppers have heard can be seen in these links:
‘I’d Rather Be Dead’ – Russian Soldier Says Commanders Flee and Own Snipers Kill Them
‘We Bury Them Right There’ – Russian on Moscow’s Tactic to Avoid Paying for Fallen Soldiers
‘Kyiv Never Bombed and Russians Are Dying’ – Russian Wife Complains About Kremlin
‘Half a Battalion Escaped to The Forest’ – Russian Soldier Blamed for Mass Refusal to Fight
‘We Lost 600 Men’ – Russian Reveals Horrific Losses and Behavior On Frontlines
‘All Our Guys Were Slaughtered’ – Intercepted Phone Calls Suggest Huge Russian Losses
‘He Started Shooting Us!’ – Intercepted Phone Call Reveals Russian Friendly Fire Incident
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