Ukrainians offer Russian fighters a ‘get out of war’ free card

September 3, 2026 russia

In a recent incident in the Russia-Ukraine war, President Vladimir Putin has just been embarrassed by the new way his soldiers are surrendering.

As one who has witnessed firsthand how battlefield demands can take the fight out of fighters, the current, albeit unusual, surrendering tactic of Russians in Ukraine can be understood. Their lack of motivation to continue fighting as their country has entered its fifth year of a war that was supposed to only last a couple of weeks, brings back memories of the Iraqi soldiers we captured in the early days of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

An unexpected but pleasant surprise of the Iraqi conflict was, after the 42-day U.S. aerial bombardment of Iraqi positions had ended and the U.S. ground war began, how quickly enemy troops sought to surrender. Within 72 hours, my 120-man unit—located in the middle of the desert—had to deal with thousands of enemy prisoners of war (EPWs) waving the white flag. A temporary containment facility was built, constructed by pushing up walls of desert sand, topped with barbed wire and sentries. It was most fortunate for us that the six-week aerial bombardment had drained the EPWs of their fighting spirit.

So motivated were the Iraqis to surrender that the first EPW we captured was in custody even before the ground war started. Amazingly, he had succeeded in passing through two lines of minefields, separating U.S. and Iraqi forces, which the latter had planted to impede our invasion, unscathed.

Ironically, the second EPW captured, who also risked his life walking through the minefields, turned out to be a U.S. citizen. An Iraqi-American who had returned to Iraq before the war started to attend a family funeral, he was pressed into serving in its army once hostilities erupted.

The Persian Gulf War is remembered for a famous first in the art of surrender. It was the first time enemy soldiers ever surrendered to an unmanned aerial vehicle, known as a UAV or drone. The drone was a reconnaissance UAV seeking to find enemy force locations. But, spotting the drone, Iraqi soldiers were recorded immediately dropping their weapons and putting their hands in the air to surrender.

The war with Russia has driven the Ukrainian military to rely heavily on drones. It has exhibited tremendous innovation in fielding an array of such aerial platforms, making them among the most advanced in the world, deployed in the air, land, or at sea. Ever since the war began, Ukraine has rapidly increased both their range and firepower.

Some drones are so advanced that not only do they have an AI capability to plot a route to the target that will avoid Russian air defenses, but they even have the capability to self-navigate enroute. Ukraine has successfully demonstrated drone warfare is a new aspect of modern warfare not to be ignored.

The Ukrainians have put together several drone assets that enable them to track down Russian troops, giving them the opportunity to surrender. Last winter, drones effectively motivated at least one hundred soldiers to do so.

Equipped with cameras, these drones can capture the anxiety and fear in the faces of Russian soldiers—a product of the fact minimally trained Russians are doing most of the fighting while more experienced forces fall behind them. As a result, these young troops have witnessed the deaths befalling many of their peers.

The Ukrainians have learned to capitalize on the fear and anxiety of the rookie Russian soldiers. After reconnaissance drones locate a Russian unit, attack drones vector in, releasing a barrage of fire. These are then followed by a drone equipped with a loudspeaker. Seeking to break the soldier’s will, it blasts the following message in Russian: “Establish eye contact with the drone. Lay down your weapon. Raise your hands. Show that you want to surrender.”

These Russian soldiers—like the Iraqi soldiers of the Persian Gulf War—are exhausted and, having lost their fighting spirit as well, surrender. In what must be a major humiliation for Putin, Ukraine has even released a video now called “I Want to Live” to educate Russians on how to surrender to a drone.

War is hell, and after 55 months of it, some Russians are choosing to exercise their “get out of war” free card.

Image generated by ChatGPT.

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