12 Million Won and Ukrainian Citizenship... Russian Soldier Who Surrendered Driving a 'Tank'

"Food Supplies Depleted and Chaos Ensues Within the Unit"
Signs of Low Morale Among Russian Troops Detected in Multiple Locations

A Russian soldier surrendering with a tank / Photo by Facebook capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] As the Russian military's invasion of Ukraine continues for over a month, signs of 'morale decline' are emerging in various places. This time, a Russian soldier surrendered to Ukraine by driving a tank, drawing international attention.

On the 27th (local time), Viktor Andrushiv, a civic activist providing information related to the Russian military, posted on his Facebook, "A Russian soldier handed over a tank to Ukraine."

Andrushiv referred to the surrendered Russian soldier as 'Misha' and released a photo. In the photo, a soldier presumed to be Misha is lying prone in a field in a surrender posture, with a Ukrainian soldier aiming a gun beside him. Behind the two, a Russian military tank driven by Misha himself is parked.

According to Andrushiv, the Ukrainian military is currently obtaining personal contact information of Russian soldiers and sending 'surrender encouragement messages.' These text messages specifically explain how to express the intention to surrender and the locations to deliver military equipment.

It is reported that Misha also received the Ukrainian side's surrender encouragement message and appeared at the agreed time and place driving the tank. At that time, Misha conveyed the status of his Russian military unit, saying, "All the other soldiers ran home. There is almost no food left, and the unit is in chaos."

On the 1st (local time), an armed soldier stands next to a damaged Russian military vehicle. / Photo by Yonhap News

The Ukrainian side is providing citizenship and about $10,000 (approximately 12 million KRW) in cash to Russian soldiers who decide to surrender. It is also known that they are allowed to live in places equipped with television, telephone, kitchen, and shower facilities until the war ends.

Meanwhile, as fighting has been ongoing for nearly a month since the Russian military's large-scale invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of last month, recent signs indicate a sharp drop in morale among Russian soldiers.

According to the British media outlet The Times on the 25th, a recent incident occurred where a Russian military commander was seriously injured due to insubordination by his subordinates during combat. A soldier, enraged by the death of a comrade, reportedly drove a tank and struck Colonel Yuri Medvedev. As a result, Colonel Medvedev suffered injuries to both legs and was transferred to a hospital in Belarus, with his survival status still unconfirmed.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, as of the 26th, two generals of the rank of major general have died in this war. The Ministry stated, "Our forces killed Russian Major General Yakov Ryazantsev, the second major general to die in the Ukraine war," adding, "Russian generals are dying dishonorably in Ukraine."

On the same day, the U.S. media outlet The Washington Post evaluated, "The number of Russian generals killed in just one month is unprecedented even in World War II, the former Soviet Union's Chechen wars, the Afghanistan war, and the Georgia war," calling it "a very unusual occurrence."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.