Lured Into Russia's Army? Here Is Where You and Your Family Can Get Help

Victims of Russia's predatory recruitment and their families can contact Ukraine's official government projects for help. Both projects, "I Want to Live" and "I Want to Find", were created by Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. If you are trapped in the Russian army, you can address I Want to Live, which helps soldiers surrender safely. If you are a relative who has lost contact with someone who went to Russia, I Want to Find helps families locate their loved ones. And if you know about Russian recruiters or their local helpers, you can report them to StopRussianRecruiters.org by email, confidencially.

If You Are Inside Russia's Army: I Want to Live

Foreign nationals who were coerced or misled into signing a Russian army contract and want out can contact the "I Want to Live" project, which helps them surrender safely. To get in touch, use the project's chatbot in Telegram.

What a Surrender Can Look Like

One man has already described how it worked for him. A Tajik migrant who signed a Russian contract after being detained in Russia described how he was left alone at the front, wounded and without food, and then surrendered to Ukrainian forces with the help of the project. He was the first Central Asian to do so through "I Want to Live". You can read his account. He urges foreign nationals in Russia never to sign a military contract.

What the Numbers Show

The project's data point in two directions. Non-Russians are making up a growing share of the Russian army's newly captured prisoners of war: according to "I Want to Live", from 0.1% in 2022 to 4.8% in 2025 and 10% so far in 2026, as we reported in 1 in 10 POWs From Russia's Army Are Not Russian Citizens. The project says Russia first recruits economically vulnerable people with promises of high pay and a better life, then sends them to assault units and the most dangerous parts of the front. In other words, Russia is leaning more and more on foreign manpower to keep its attacks going.

But the same data show that foreigners can also use surrender as a chance to save their lives. According to the project, more foreigners were captured in the first nine months of 2026 than in all of 2025, and the prisoners now come from 55 countries (the number as of the day when this article was published has grown up to 59).

What Ukraine Guarantees to Prisoners of War

Ukraine guarantees that it follows the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war, regardless of citizenship or nationality. All the prisoners of war are held in decent conditions under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international human rights organisations. Three meals a day, medical care and the ability to keep regular contact with their family are also guaranteed.

If Your Relative Has Gone Silent: I Want to Find

Families who cannot reach a relative who went to Russia can turn to "I Want to Find", another Ukrainian project, which helps relatives locate their dearest and nearest. Its chatbot is available in Telegram. More and more foreigners are reaching out to it. As of the end of August 2026, the project had received 1,019 requests about missing Kazakhstani citizens, the most of any country, followed by 736 about Uzbekistan and 627 about Belarus, as we reported in Families of Foreign Fighters in Russia's Army Are Increasingly Turning to Ukraine.

Report the Recruiters

If you want to share information about Russian recruiters or their local helpers in your area, or to tell us your own situation, write to StopRussianRecruiters.org at contact@stoprussianrecruiters.org. Your anonymity is guaranteed. 

For more advice for victims of Russian military recruitment and their families, see our FAQ.