Russian soldier surrenders tank for $10,000 and Ukrainian citizenship, official claims

A Russian soldier surrendered his tank to Ukraine for $10,000 and the chance for Ukrainian citizenship, an official has claimed.

A Russian soldier has allegedly surrendered his tank to Ukraine in exchange for cash and the possibility of Ukrainian citizenship.

He reportedly told his captors the war was too “chaotic” and that he would rather take up a Ukrainian offer for resettlement than continue fighting.

The soldier will eventually receive $10,000, a comfortable place to live and a chance to apply for citizenship, a Ukrainian official said.

“The Russians are giving up!” Victor Andrusiv, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, recently wrote on Facebook in a post translated to English, the New York Post reported.

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A Russian soldier has allegedly surrendered his tank to Ukraine. Picture: Twitter

Mr Andrusiv said Ukraine had been sending Russia soldiers SMS messages telling them how to surrender and where to hand over their military gear.

“A few days ago, ‘Misha’ called us,” he wrote, appearing to use an alias for the Russian soldier.

Misha pulled up in a tank and was the only one left in his unit, Mr Adrusiv claimed.

“The rest escaped home,” the Ukrainian minister said. “He didn’t see the point of war... Misha said that there was almost no food left, military management is chaotic and practically absent. Demoralisation is a colossal.”

A charred Russian tank on the front line in the Kyiv region. Picture: Press service of the Ukrainian Ground Forces / AFP

Mr Adrusiv said soldiers detained Misha in a “very comfortable” set-up and that he would get $10,000 when the war ends and the chance to apply to be a Ukrainian citizen.

The minister’s story has not been independently verified, and Mr Adrusiv did not provide the exact day or the location where the exchange allegedly occurred.

“Until the war ends, he will live in comfortable conditions with a TV, phone, kitchen and shower,” Mr Adrusiv said.

NATO estimated last week that 7000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the war began a month ago.

Ukraine has released videos of captured Russian troops crying as they apologised for killing Ukrainians and admitting that the invasion ordered by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, was a “terrible mistake.”

This story was published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission.