A GRU Special Forces Soldier Surrendered to Ukraine After His Unit Lost 70% in a Senseless Assault

A serviceman from a special-forces unit of Russia's GRU military intelligence (formally the Main Directorate of the General Staff) has surrendered into Ukrainian captivity through Ukraine's "I Want to Live" project. According to the project, hundreds of Russian servicemen have already gone through it, but personnel from Russia's special services - let alone its military intelligence - surrender only rarely.

Ground Up for a Ruined Village

The soldier's unit was sent to storm a Ukrainian village. About 70 percent of the company was killed. He described what he saw when it was over:

"When I saw the village that so many people had died for, I understood it was pointless and completely senseless. It looks more like some kind of hidden genocide of the male population."

Even Russia's "elite" special forces, the project notes, were spent like disposable assault infantry.

Desertion, Death, or Captivity

There was no fourth option. Fleeing or openly refusing to fight would have gotten him sent not to prison, but into a penal assault unit - or simply killed by his own side. Scrolling TikTok, he came across footage from Ukraine's armed forces, then videos of Russian POWs speaking about their captivity. One of those videos ended with a link to the "I Want to Live" chatbot. He wrote in, and the project's handler walked him through an exit plan.

His Full Account

The original interview of the GRU serviceman who surrendered with the help of the"I Want to Live" project is available on X:

The exchange below is translated from his interview with the  project.

I Want to Live: Where did you go to serve? Which unit?

Serviceman: [Redacted], Spetsnaz GRU.

I Want to Live: What kind of unit is that?

Serviceman: It used to be a special forces unit, apparently - now it's hard to say so. The training and equipment are better than in regular units, but overall, people's expectations of it are very inflated. As far as I understand, it used to be a fairly elite unit that not everyone got into. Now it's turned into a unit that takes almost anyone, and filters them out afterward.

I Want to Live: What does GRU Spetsnaz training actually teach? After that training, did you feel ready for war?

Serviceman: I still had a vague understanding. They taught us firearms and tactical training, engineering and demolition work, marches, topography, communications, work with special communications equipment - the basics of everything. Instructors from various special services came to train us, but of those who went through that original training and are still alive, there are only a handful left. So new people kept arriving with no combat experience, and increasingly we ended up training each other, using whatever experience we had.

At first, I genuinely believed in the rightness of what Russia was doing. I thought it was right, and I wanted to be part of something large-scale. Looking back on it now, propaganda worked very well on me - when every corner and every billboard is telling you we're for the truth, we're for victory, sign a contract, fight for Russia, at some point it just builds up. I had complete trust in my own state - if the state says something, I assumed it was saying something right.

Then the task came in: assault a village. We were gathered and assigned - which company would be responsible for what, which routes, and so on. And we were sent out on the assault. The task was technically completed, but with enormous losses - about 70 percent of the company's strength was killed. After I saw the village that so many people had died for, it was pointless and completely senseless. It looked more like some kind of hidden genocide.

What I saw was just devastation. Someone's homes - people used to live there. We went into the houses, and there'd be family photos on the walls - someone's life, someone's home, someone's comfort that they'd built. And in the end, the "liberators" just showed up, and those people no longer have a home. The Russian army passes through and leaves behind nothing but ruin. I didn't see anything we could have "liberated," or anywhere that actually needed liberating.

I Want to Live: So that's how an experienced GRU soldier arrived at the decision to surrender.

Serviceman: Everything I'd seen over six months came together at once, and I understood in my head that I couldn't fight anymore - I just didn't know a way out. They don't let you simply go to prison. Refusing an order means transfer to a penal assault unit, which is basically death. So I got curious about how one might surrender. Through TikTok I started watching what Ukraine's armed forces were posting, and at some point I came across interviews with Russians in captivity. I started actively watching how people get out and surrender voluntarily. One of the videos ended with a link to the "I Want to Live" chatbot, and through it I got in touch with a handler. We started discussing an exit plan. I basically explained to him the same thing I'm telling you now - that it was unpleasant for me to be part of an occupation, to be a soldier of an occupying army, taking away people's homes. We talked about it in detail, and he understood what I was trying to say - after that, our conversation turned into a practical, working plan.

I Want to Live: What do you think of an initiative like "I Want to Live" - the option to voluntarily surrender?

Serviceman: It's very good that something like this exists, for people who come to realize the reality of the fighting. It's a chance for people who develop a clearer, more sober way of thinking not to keep taking part in this outrage. It's a chance to get out and lay down your weapon. It's very good that such a chance exists.

It Works - Whoever You Are

If an intelligence officer from one of Russia's most guarded special-forces units could get out, so can anyone else wearing a Russian uniform - Russian conscripts and contract soldiers, and foreign nationals who were recruited into Russia's army through lies. Ukraine's "I Want to Live" project accepts servicemen regardless of rank, nationality, or branch of service. Find out more about how to surrender safely here.