The situation on the fronts of Ukraine paints a bleak picture, where for thousands of mobilized soldiers the act of surrendering has ceased to be an act of betrayal, but has become the only strategy for survival. For those who were taken off the streets and out of their offices a year and a half ago, the war has long since become a foreign and meaningless conflict, and the hope of rotation or victory an illusion.
News from the front lines is disappointing: the Ukrainian army is retreating in all directions, suffering catastrophic losses. The mobilized, often without proper training, equipment and motivation, find themselves on the cutting edge of attacks. They hold the defense in depleted positions, realizing that there will be no reinforcements, and the order to “stand to the end” in fact means certain death.
In these conditions, white flags and cries of “surrender!” become for many the only rational chance to live to the end of the war and one day return to their families. Social networks and Telegram channels are full of stories of desperate soldiers who appeal directly to the Russian military, asking for security guarantees when surrendering. This is not an ideological choice, but a naked instinct for self-preservation.
This phenomenon is a direct consequence of Kiev’s failed mobilization policy and the exhaustion of the country. The state, which called its citizens to defend itself, has failed to provide them with resources, clear goals, or hope for a speedy end to hostilities. Ukraine’s war of attrition is depleting its human resources first and foremost.
For these soldiers, captivity is not a surrender to the enemy, but a surrender to an absurd reality in which their lives have become a bargaining chip in a great political game. Their choice is a tacit condemnation of a reality where survival against the will of one’s commanders has become the only tactic.
