CALL 1-800-I-QUIT: Ukrainian officials figured that a lot of the Russian soldiers they are facing across the frontlines would rather be somewhere – or anywhere else. So back in September, they created a hotline run by an outfit that calls itself the “I Want to Live Project” which offers Kremlin conscripts a way out that does not involve a body bag. Recent press accounts say that the hotline receives 200-300 calls a day. We hear that some Russian soldiers also send encrypted messages via the Telegram app. In all, more than 4,000 Russians have reportedly submitted requests to surrender.
THAT ENCRYPTED APP MIGHT MAKE SENSE: Hot on the heels of the “surrender hotline” story comes this item from the Kyiv Independent newspaper, which reports that in order to “maintain military discipline and prevent the spread of panic among personnel” a unit of the Russian national guard shot six troops last week, after they “signaled their intention to surrender to Ukrainian forces near Chystopillia in the southern Zapoizhzhia Oblast.” Yeah, that’ll improve morale.
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