In January, the "I Want to Find" project received a record number of applications from relatives of missing Russian soldiers.

The number of applications from families of Russian servicemen seeking to find missing persons through the Ukrainian project “I Want to Find” reached a record 8,548 in January, marking a 22% increase compared to the previous month.

This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war.

“A record number of requests were received by the ‘I Want to Find’ project in January this year. 8,548 applications for information about missing servicemen from the aggressor country's army were submitted to the project,” the statement reads.

According to the Coordination Headquarters, since the project began, relatives of Russian servicemen have submitted over 60,000 applications for finding missing persons. Applications were particularly active in January, reaching a record high since the project's inception. The number of requests is steadily increasing.

The Headquarters reports that as of January 2025, it has been confirmed that 1,790 Russian servicemen are in captivity, of which 408 have already been exchanged for Ukrainian defenders. However, these figures do not reflect the total number of prisoners, as they are based solely on inquiries within the project.

“I Want to Live” is a Ukrainian state project aimed at assisting servicemen of the RF and Belarusian armies to surrender safely. The project was launched in September 2022 by the Coordination Headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war, operating with the support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate.

It is worth noting that the losses of Russian soldiers due to Vladimir Putin have already reached 884,070 individuals.

As is known, during the first year of operation of the “I Want to Live” project, more than 210 Russian occupiers surrendered to Ukrainian captivity. In March 2023, a total of 9,836 individuals from Russia and temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine appealed to the unified reception center for Russian servicemen wishing to surrender, “I Want to Live.”

As of May 2024, the “I Want to Live” project received over 35,000 applications, primarily from active Russian servicemen, with 260 individuals already utilizing it.

Earlier, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, appealed to Russian servicemen and urged them to surrender, stating that “it will only get worse.”

Also read: Can Crimeans protect themselves from illegal mobilization by Russia?

Remember, if you were forced to join the ranks of the RF armed forces or affiliated illegal armed groups, you will be regarded by Ukraine as a victim of Russia's war crimes. You should surrender to Ukrainian military forces at the first opportunity and inform them that you are a citizen of Ukraine from Crimea, Donetsk, or Luhansk regions.

If you voluntarily join the RF armed forces and participate in the war against Ukraine, such involvement will be considered a crime under Ukraine's national legislation — punishable by up to 15 years in prison. If you hold a command position, be prepared to answer to the International Criminal Court.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, made three promises to Russian servicemen who surrender on Ukrainian territory.

To facilitate this, a unified center and a 24/7 hotline for receiving requests from Russian military personnel and their families have been launched in Ukraine, aimed at helping them safely surrender to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

On November 21, 2024, during the international conference Crimea Global, the Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war, General Dmytro Usov, noted that international organizations have shown their ineffectiveness in liberating unlawfully held individuals.

During this event, he also reported that currently in Ukraine, among the prisoners of war who fought in the ranks of the RF armed forces, there are citizens from Iran, Slovakia, Yemen, Nepal, Egypt, Brazil, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Cuba, and Sri Lanka. Russia has not approached Ukraine at all regarding the release or exchange of prisoners of war from these 10 countries.