Ukrainian intelligence recruits Russian lieutenant who convinced 11 fighters to surrender

Representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate Andriy Yusov said this at a press conference, Ukrinform reports.

Russian military officer Daniil Alfyorov, recruited by the intelligence service, was also present at the press conference.

Photo: Ukrinform

According to Alfyorov, he contacted the Ukrainian side thanks to the I Want to Live project. The Russian serviceman has been cooperating with Ukrainian intelligence since June 2023 and convinced 11 Russian soldiers to surrender.

"The Ukrainian side offered me to find Russian servicemen who wanted to surrender under the I Want to Live program. During the period of cooperation, I managed to capture three groups of soldiers. After they started to suspect me, I told the curator of the I Want to Live program that I was leaving. Once on the territory of Ukraine, having met the Ukrainian Special Forces, I went through all the procedures provided for Russian military personnel who surrendered," said the Russian army lieutenant.

The Russian was transported to the territory controlled by Ukraine by the Special Operations Forces.

Photo: Ukrinform

For reference: I Want to Live is a state project of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, created with the support of Ukraine's Defense Ministry and the Main Intelligence Directorate. The project aims to encourage the voluntary surrender of servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

• Earlier, the intelligence reported that as of September 15, the number of appeals to the I Want to Live program had doubled, and now more than 170 Russian soldiers want to surrender every day.