The “I Want to Live” [Хочу жить] project published a new intercepted call between Russian soldiers, vividly illustrating the harsh reality of service in the Russian army.
In the intercepted call, one of the speakers, a soldier, explains that there was a problem within his group: “He 500-ed,” the soldier says.
In military slang, “500” means refusal to obey orders. According to the speaker, one of his comrades turned on a radio against orders, revealing the group’s position.
“We already took his stuff, thought he was a 200,” says one of the soldiers, implying they had considered this soldier already dead.
“He must’ve been killed, must’ve been shot,” the soldier says, indicating that the man’s belongings had already been divided among the group.
Another soldier mentions that the man is supposedly “waiting for an extraction,” meaning he expects to be pulled back from the front. Nevertheless, the first soldier pushes: “He needs to be shot. He needs to be watched and shot.”
According to I Want to Live – a Ukrainian state-run helpline receiving appeals from Russian and Belarusian servicemen wishing to surrender – conversations like this reveal the true atmosphere within the Russian army.
“In the Russian army, your only choice is how you will die – at the hands of Ukrainian soldiers, your own comrades, or by suicide,” I Want to Live wrote in its post on Telegram.
For Russian soldiers, death is considered an “obligation” to a “Motherland,” which won’t even remember your name, the project says.
“Your belongings will be divided before your body even cools, and your family will be informed that you are either ‘missing’ or ‘deserted.’”
I Want to Live aims to dissuade those considering enlistment in the Russian military and for those who’ve already done so, to surrender.
“A normal person would never want to be part of such a blood-soaked system. Ukrainian captivity offers a real chance to survive, unlike service in units run by sadists and looters who have turned war into a business,” the project wrote.
I Want to Live operates with support from Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR).
Kyiv Post regularly reposts some of the most revealing and shocking intercepted conversations. Check out more intercepted conversations:
‘We Need to Take Odesa’ – Russian Woman Cites Fake ‘Biolabs’ to Justify Mykolaiv Attacks
‘The F**king Guys Are Dying!’ – Intercepted Call Reveals Chaos and Command Breakdown in Russian Army
‘They Even Ate Theraflu, Mom’ – Intercept Reveals Russian Soldiers Starving on Front Lines
‘Finally Those Bastards Are Getting Hit’ – Border Russians Revel in Moscow’s First Taste of War
Russian Soldier Threatens Deserters With ‘Meat Assault’ Suicide Mission: ‘That’ll Be Fun, Right?’
- ‘We’ll All Die as One for the Tsar’ – Man Fears Putin Turning Russia into North Korea
- ‘He Came Home for 3 Days and Hung Himself’: Russian Soldier’s Suicide After Conscription Order
- ‘Talk to This ‘Ukrop’ and Erase Him’ – Russian Commander Orders Execution of POW
- Russian Soldier Complains of Using Civilian Trucks to Transport North Koreans
- ‘The Chinese Are Here’ – Russian Troops React to North Korean Arrival
- ‘I Need to Get the Hell Out of Here’ – Russian Soldier Fears for His Life
- ‘I’d Rather Be Dead’ – Russian Soldier Says Commanders Flee and Own Snipers Kill Them
- ‘We Bury Them Right There’ – Russian on Moscow’s Tactic to Avoid Paying for Fallen Soldiers
- ‘Kyiv Never Bombed and Russians Are Dying’ – Russian Wife Complains About Kremlin
- ‘What Are You Even Bragging About?’ – Russian Soldier’s Wife Slams Kremlin for Displaying Captured Weapons
- ‘Half a Battalion Escaped to The Forest’ – Russian Soldier Blamed for Mass Refusal to Fight