Whether scouting, killing or sending messages. Drones have become an integral part of modern warfare. Recently, the flying all-rounders are apparently also intended to serve as doves of peace. The instructions are easy to read: call, arrange a meeting, follow instructions, surrender. According to video instructions, Russian soldiers are supposed to capitulate. The highlight of the matter: A drone is supposed to guide the enemy safely into captivity.
The use of the mechanical surrender helpers is part of the “I want to live” hotline, which is intended to make it easy for Russian soldiers to lay down their arms safely at any time. The Ukrainian army published a corresponding instructional video on social media earlier this week. In it, a narrator explains step by step in Russian how enemy combatants can safely go into captivity.
Three men in uniform with white armbands demonstrate the process in a ditch in the middle of a snowy landscape. First, the spokesman said, the soldiers should dial the “I want to live” hotline to arrange a time and place for the meeting. Because of the short flight time of drones, the video says, “the accuracy and punctuality of arrival is crucial.”
On site, they should wait for the arrival of the quadrocopter, which will give them further instructions. “Once you have the drone in view, make eye contact with it,” the spokesman said. The soldiers should then raise their arms to signal that they are ready to follow the drone. The drone then hovers up and down a few meters before leading the soldiers at walking pace to the waiting Ukrainians. In the video clip, the “Russians” end up lying face down on the ground while being searched by Ukrainian soldiers. “Save more lives,” says the narrator at the end of the video, urging Russian viewers to spread the video.
At the end of November, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published a video on Twitter showing a Russian soldier obeying drone instructions. Whether the recording is authentic cannot be verified. On the other hand, the Russian military leadership also claims to have used drones to capture Ukrainian soldiers. According to a statement from the state news agency Tass, they should send calls for surrender via SMS.
Since the beginning of the war, both parties have been extremely creative in persuading the other side to surrender – be it through artillery or airdrop leaflets, social media campaigns or countless radio and television reports.
The Ukrainian military leadership launched the “I want to live” project in response to the partial Russian mobilization in September, when Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin forcibly recruited around 300,000 people. In addition to a telephone hotline, Russian combatants and their families should also be able to find out about safe surrender options via a website and a telegram channel.
According to Ukrainian information, thousands of Russians have already made specific inquiries. This cannot be independently confirmed. An employee of the Ukrainian secret service is said to have spoken to the “New York Times” of 1.2 million general inquiries.
In an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper “Kyviv Post”, project spokesman Vitaly Matvienko claimed that forced conscripts could even use the hotline before they were even sent to Ukraine. “Ukrainians treat the prisoners who surrender according to the Geneva Conventions, do not torture anyone, do not mutilate anyone and provide comfortable conditions, with three meals a day and medical care if necessary,” Matvienko said.
Quellen: “Business Insider”; New York Times; “Ukrainian Truth”
