Military intelligence: Calls from Russia to surrender hotline rise 70% after helicopter pilot defected

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1. After news broke that a Russian helicopter pilot defected to Ukraine, calls to a hotline set up for Russian soldiers wanting to surrender to Ukraine’s military increased by 70% in one day, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on Sept. 11.

   Launched in September 2022 by Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, the 24-hour hotline, which is called ‘I Want to Live’ in Russian, helps Russians to surrender themselves or their units to the Ukrainian military.

   Ukraine promises Russian military personnel that they will be held in compliance with the Geneva Conventions after surrender.

   Maksim Kuzminov, 28-year-old Russian helicopter pilot, landed his Mi-8 helicopter at an airfield in Ukraine to give himself up to the authorities, Ukrainian media reported on Aug. 23.

   He spoke at a press conference on the operation on Sept. 5 and explained that he defected because he “did not want to contribute” to the crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, which he believes is a “wonderful country.”

   Kuzminov said that his parents supported his plans to defect and have joined him in Ukraine.

   By March this year, around 10,000 Russian soldiers used the hotline to offer their voluntary surrender, officials said at the time.

2. I wouldn’t put too much weight to this number, as the average number of calls appears to be around 50, meaning that they got around 80 calls the day after the news. Let’s hope this increase becomes steady!

3. Lol good.

   Why stay in Russia getting rubles when you can defect and get $500k!