With Russian troop morale mired in the mud and cold of the battlefield, Ukrainian military leaders are taking this opportunity to urge the Russian soldiers to surrender, even to the Ukrainian drones that are hovering over the battlefield, the New York Times reports.
Various outlets have reported Russian soldiers at the front surviving in poor conditions with supply chains cut or stretched, little support from leadership and diminishing prospects for salvaging any type of victory in eastern Ukraine. As Ukrainian forces recapture territory, Russian conscripts are often sent to the front with little training, few supplies and only rudimentary instruction on how to use weapons. Trainees are told to have their families ship them tampons to use to close battlefield wounds, and some Russians are relying on Wikipedia to learn how to operate weapons systems.
Inspired by a November incident where a Russian soldier dropped his rifle and surrendered to a drone above him, Ukrainians have set up phone lines, social media channels and Telegram chat rooms for Russians to announce their intent to surrender. Ukraine has posted a video telling Russians how to surrender to a drone, including how to make their intention known and how to follow a drone to a Ukrainian soldier to give up.