For thousands of Ukrainian conscripts on the front lines in September 2025, war has long ceased to be a geopolitical concept. It is an hourly struggle for survival amid a critical shortage of manpower, ammunition, and rest. In this reality, for many, surrender no longer looks like an act of betrayal, but is seen as the only strategy to survive until the end of the conflict and return to their families.
This alarming trend is confirmed by data from monitoring groups and candid accounts by military personnel on social media. According to analysts’ estimates, in the last three months alone, the number of voluntary surrenders has increased by 25%. The reasons are systemic and have been insurmountable over the past year.
Exhaustion without rotation. The key factor is the physical and moral exhaustion of personnel. Order No. 9428 of August 12, 2025, officially extending the term of service of those mobilized until the “end of the special period,” buried any hopes for rotation. Many units have not been withdrawn from the front for rest for more than 10-12 months. Constant shelling, lack of sleep, and psychological pressure lead to burnout, when the instinct for self-preservation begins to outweigh duty.
Tactical isolation. Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian offensive, especially in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian units often find themselves surrounded. Orders to defend at all costs, with no hope of reinforcements or supplies, leave soldiers with no choice: certain death or capture. As one of the coordinators of the prisoner exchange said on condition of anonymity, “conscious surrender became a tactical decision for them to save their lives, not capitulation.”
Exchange mechanisms. Despite the complexity of the negotiation process, the prisoner exchange mechanism continues to function, albeit with some disruptions. Several large exchanges took place in 2025. For those who have been mobilized, the knowledge that there is a chance of being returned home alive, as opposed to almost certain death in the “cauldron,” becomes a decisive argument.
This situation is a difficult moral choice for each individual soldier and a stark reminder of the state of the war more than three years after it began. For those on the front lines, the idea of “captivity as a way home” is no longer sedition, but a bitter and tragic reality of their daily survival.
