“
Russian soldiers!
Spare your lives - surrender!
".
The Ukrainian State website entitled “
I want to live
”, (“
Hochu zhit
” in Ukrainian) offering room and board to enemy soldiers who wish to desert has been banned on Russian territory since Sunday 16 October.
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The device, which included an emergency hotline reachable at any time for potential deserters, was censored at the initiative of the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, as reported by the Russian NGO Roskomsvoboda.
The decision was reportedly made on October 11.
"
The project has been blocked twice by the Russian General Prosecutor's Office
," explains the NGO.
They had first posed a kind of screen restricting access to all domains and subdomains of the site, and then blocked it in its entirety
”.
A communication strategy
The initiative, called “
I want to live
”, was launched on September 16 by the Ukrainian government.
This emergency contact line offers two numbers, with operators available at all times to refer soldiers or Ukrainians conscripted by force into the Russian army, who are fighting and seeking to desert.
An official Russian-language Telegram channel also posts information related to the surrenders, continually urging enemy soldiers to lay down their arms.
On the official site of the state project "
I want to live
", the argument does not pass by four paths.
“
Have you noticed that you are not greeted with flowers, but with fire and curses?
Have you noticed that the commanders run away first?
note the first lines of the site's introduction.
Before hammering: “
Save your life for you and your family.
Stop Fighting For Other People's Slogans
,” followed by a step-by-step instruction sheet for getting this support.
The surrender procedure is intended to be settled like clockwork.
"
It's a common communication strategy in every war
, emphasizes General (2S) François Chauvancy, consultant in geopolitics, doctor in information and communication sciences.
In each conflict, an attempt is made to encourage the desertion of soldiers from the adversary's armed forces.
Previously, it was flyers that we sent to the enemy to encourage him to surrender, now it's toll-free numbers
”.
A propaganda strategy that is part of a psychological warfare aimed at weakening the enemy by any means.
Discredit the Russian forces
The site then reassures future deserters: they will be treated according to the respect of the Geneva Conventions, thus including "
three meals a day, medical care, legal assistance from international organizations...
" "
An interesting position
, judge François Chauvancy.
The Ukrainians recall that they respect the conventions of war and the rights of prisoners, which is now reproached to the Russians
”.
Here again, these declarations are part of a “
general communication strategy
” which gives the advantage to the Ukrainian armies, who speak civilized language, against the Russians who communicate very little.
Notice to those who hesitate:
All who surrender voluntarily will be declared captured in action
.”
The device guarantees deserting military personnel their financial benefits, claiming to protect them against possible Russian persecution.
“
This tool raises several questions
,” continues the general.
“
To promote the possibility of deserting is to discredit the power that Putin has over his territory and his population.
How is it possible to run away from the flags while it is repeated that Russia is a totalitarian state?
The reality of these desertions is also poorly known, for lack of figures on the number of deserters and prisoners.
“
There is also the question of the profiles of these deserters: who is going to surrender?
".
It is more than likely that the Ukrainians are investigating these people.
"
There could be soldiers guilty of war crimes, who seek to surrender to afford a new virginity: what would Ukraine do in this case?
»
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The Russian government sought to reprove this initiative, by prohibiting the site on its territory.
Contacted by the Ukrainian news site IMI, the operators of the “
I want to live
” project replied that they expected such censorship from the Russian authorities.
Basic information and instructions for getting there safely are now fully available on the Telegram channel.
Users can still access it from Russian territory using a VPN (virtual private network) and emergency numbers also remain open.
The platform says it has received more than 2,000 requests so far.
The Ukrainian authorities are also offering 10,000 dollars to any Russian soldier deserting aboard a Kremlin army vehicle, and up to a million dollars for a combat plane.
A strategy that aims to reach various profiles in this
way: “We appeal to those who refuse to fight because they do not want to, because the cause is unfair, but also to those who need money. .
“Effective strategy or stab in the water?
"
We lack objective elements
," concludes François Chauvancy.
We
repeat that Russia has many deserters in its ranks, but we haven't seen many prisoners of war so far
”.
