Mobilized Russians prefer to surrender to Ukraine over joining army

A spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence says that Russian men being rounded up for the Kremlin's war effort are already seeking to avoid the front lines by handing themselves over to Ukrainian authorities.

Andriy Yusov, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's intelligence directorate, told state television on September 27 that recently mobilized Russians have contacted a hotline set up by Ukraine's security services asking to surrender, reports Ukrainska Pravda, per Newsweek. Yusov's remarks follow other reports of challenges facing Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to compel military service to shore up his military campaign in Ukraine.

"Now there are a lot of calls to the hotline from newly mobilized Russians or even from those who have not yet been mobilized," Yusov said during the broadcast, according to Pravda. "They call and say: 'If I am mobilized, what should I do, what should I do, how should I surrender?'"

After Ukrainian forces successfully retook portions of the country in a counteroffensive this month, Putin announced a partial draft last week in a televised address. The draft applies to Russian citizens in military reserves or those who have served in the armed forces with "certain military specialities and relevant experience."

Yusov said Russia had already exhausted available conscripts in the Donetsk and Luhansk administrative districts, two areas under control by separatists friendly with the Kremlin. Russians are unmotivated to fight in Ukraine, and those who have been mobilized or have yet to be are calling the Ukrainian hotline, Yusov said.