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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Daniel Boffey in Kyiv

‘I want to live’: the Ukraine hotline encouraging Russians to surrender

Vitaly Matvienko, spokesman at the department for prisoners of war
Vitaly Matvienko, spokesperson at the department for prisoners of war: ‘During the liberation of Kherson, we had calls from Russians and they told us, '“Just save our souls.”’ Photograph: Ed Ram/The Guardian

More than 6,500 Russian military personnel have sought to surrender through a bespoke “I want to live” hotline, Ukraine’s government has claimed, with the call centre said to have been recently moved to a secret location to avoid Moscow interference.

Vitaly Matvienko, spokesperson at the department for prisoners of war, said those who had made contact through the service had been verified as serving in the Russian forces using their personal data and service number.

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