Ukraine ministry appears to offer reward to deferring Russians
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Ukraine has offered a million dollars to every Russian pilot who defects from the military and hands over their warplane in working condition. The offer appears to be an attempt to exploit the low morale reported among Russian troops as the war enters its third week. The reward was made by the Ukrainian state arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom and backed by the country’s Ministry of Defence.
Ukroboronprom will also offer half a million dollars to combat helicopter pilots who hand over working combat aircraft.
In a direct address to Russia’s Armed Forces, a statement from Ukroboronprom read: “We guarantee you 1 mln USD for every combat-capable stolen or trophy occupiers’ aircraft & 500,000 USD for every combat helicopter of Russia’s Aerospace Forces.
“To use this opportunity, you need to surrender to Ukrainian authorities along with the military hardware.
“You and your family may become wealthy people, no longer obliged to carry out criminal orders.”
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The military conglomerate continued: “You can become free and rich. To reach Ukrainian dispatchers, you already know the frequencies.”
The offer, made earlier this week, was then bolstered by a video advert shared online which details the proposal and even includes a phone number for Russian defectors to ring.
The advert has racked up more than two million views online so far.
They even suggested that non-pilot Russian soldiers who also want to defect could hand over their equipment and will be given Ukrainian citizenship in exchange.
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Ukroboronprom is a Ukrainian state firm in charge of controlling the industrial-military complex and supplies of equipment in the country.
Moscow has so far only claimed 500 deads among its soldiers but Ukraine has reported more than 10,000 troops had been killed since the start of the operation.
There have been widespread reports that morale among Russian troops is low after two weeks of the war, with footage emerging of allegedly captured soldiers claiming they were not aware they would be deployed to fight.
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In less than three weeks, President Putin has lost three major generals in the war with Ukraine.
Former RAF Commander Edward Stringer said the presence of three leading military figures at the front and their subsequent death does not bode well for Russia.
The low morale has prompted Vladimir Putin and his generals to recruit brigades of mercenaries to fight in Ukraine
On Friday, the Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said that 16,000 fighters from the Middle East had ‘volunteered’ to fight with the Russian army.
A recent poll conducted by aides of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny showed that 53 percent of 700 Moscow respondents view their country as an aggressor in the war, with only 28 percent labelling Russia as a liberator.
About 36 percent of participants in the poll blamed Russia for the ongoing war.
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