Russian soldiers surrendering in Ukraine have been advised to use the codeword “million” in an apparent reference to the financial reward on offer for laying down their weapons.
A guide produced by the Ukrainian Bar Association - titled “How to surrender correctly” - tells Russian forces they should “throw aside the weapon, stand up straight, raise up your hands or a white flag and shout loudly ‘surrender’ and the code word ‘a million’”.
The guide lays out the financial compensation surrendering troops can expect, and says valuable items will be confiscated and returned when the individual is released at the end of the war.
The Kremlin’s soldiers have been told they will receive 5 million rubles (£46,500) by Kyiv if they surrender and agree to follow the orders of the Ukrainian military. They are also offered a phone call home to let their loved ones know they are safe.
Sharing the infographic on her Instagram page, Anna Ogrenchuk, president of the Ukrainian Bar Association, said: “The occupiers from Russia and Belarus have two options: to die ingloriously in Ukraine, leaving only the stigma of a murderer of peaceful Ukrainian citizens, or to surrender.
“You have no alternative. If the choice is made correctly, follow clear rules. We are a country that respects the law, and your detention and further transfer after the end of hostilities will be exclusively in accordance with international law.”
Ukraine’s president, Volofdomyr Zelensky, has previously called on Russian soldiers to surrender.
In a nightly television address earlier in March, he said Vladimir Putin's forces had suffered worse losses during their invasion than in the Chechnya conflict, adding that they are beginning to understand they will not achieve anything by war.
"I know that you want to survive," Mr Zelensky said, vowing that those who surrender will be treated "as people, decently".
Russia has lost between 7,000 and 15,000 troops since the invasion started on 24 February, western military officials believe.
An eighth Russian colonel - Denis Kurilo - was killed by Ukrainian soldiers amid fighting near Kharkiv earlier this week, Ukraine’s military said.
