As Russia continues to hush up the scale of the losses it suffers since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Ukraine has taken steps to reach out to the families of the Russian occupiers. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, captured Russian soldiers will now be released to their mothers if they come for them to Kyiv, Ukraine.
To find out if their son was captured or killed in combat, Russian families need to use the Telegram channel Cargo 200 or call the telephone helplines of the “Come back from Ukraine alive” initiative.
The ministry also provides an e-mail address for written communication: [email protected]
Also, the statement provides travel directions, as, for civilians, direct travel to Ukraine from Russia is no longer possible:
“If you have received evidence that your son is a prisoner of ours, the mothers of Russian soldiers should go to Kyiv. After the invasion of Putin’s fascist army and the closure of airspace, the only way you can reach Ukraine is to go to Kaliningrad [Russia] or Minsk [Belarus] and, from there, take a bus or taxi to the Polish border and, via Poland, reach a border checkpoint with Ukraine, where you will be met and taken to Kyiv, where your son will be brought to you.
“We, Ukrainians, unlike Putin’s fascists, do not fight with mothers and their captive children. We are looking forward to seeing you in Kyiv!”
As of 2 March, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that 5,840 Russian invaders were KIA and over 200 have been taken as POWs. On the same day, Russia’s Ministry of Defense acknowledged Russian military losses for the first time since the start of the invasion: its representative Ihor Konashenkov claimed that only 498 were killed and 1,597 wounded.
Konashenkov stated that Russian conscripts and cadets do not take part in the hostilities. However, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry provided many testimonies from Russian POWs that conscripts who had been forced to sign a contract were taking part in the invasion of Ukraine. Their average age is 19-22 years.
Earlier, Ukraine launched a hotline and website for families of Russian killed and captured soldiers. Ukraine claims it contacted Russia to set up a mission to transfer the corpses, but received no response. Russia continues to deny losses in its war against Ukraine.
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