Russian Soldier Who Surrendered Tank To Ukraine Gets $10,000

A Russian tank crewman surrendered himself and his vehicle to authorities in Ukraine after the rest of his squad fled home to Russia and he realized there was "no point in continuing to fight," Ukrainian officials said.

The soldier, identified only as Misha, received a targeted text that guaranteed safety, a financial reward and potential Ukrainian citizenship at the end of the war in exchange for surrendering armored equipment, Ukrainian state-funded media outlet National News Agency of Ukraine reported.

This prompted Misha to hand over his "fully operable" tank to Ukrainian authorities, the report said, citing Victor Andrusiv, an adviser to Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky.

Ukraine's National Police had identified former Ukrainian phone numbers used by Russian forces and "regularly" sent these numbers instructions on how to surrender and hand over armored equipment, Andrusiv said in a Facebook post.

"Misha called us a few days ago. ... A meeting point was designated. As he approached, a drone monitored the area to make sure this is not an ambush set-up. After that, our spec-ops forces detained him. It turned out that his tank crewmates had fled home, leaving him behind. He saw no point in continuing to fight," Andrusiv explained.

The Russian tank crewman could not return home as his commander threatened to shoot him and write off his death as a combat loss, according to the official.

Misha's unit was also "practically out of food stocks" and had "enormous" levels of demoralization while the management was "chaotic and almost non-existent," he claimed.

The Russian serviceman will receive $10,000 and the opportunity to apply for Ukrainian citizenship after the war, according to Andrusiv.

"Until the war ends, he will live in comfortable conditions with a TV, phone, kitchen and shower," the official said.

Andrusiv did not reveal what specific tank model Misha surrendered.

The bulk of the Russian Ground Forces' tank fleet comprises T-72, T-80 and T-90 main battle tanks, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank.

Variants of all three models have been destroyed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, open-source data showed.

Meanwhile, Russia's most modern tank, the T-14 Armata, has yet to be spotted in the ongoing conflict. The vehicle still has not entered operational service, a report by The Wall Street Journal said.

Russia has lost 509 tanks between the start of its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 and Tuesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said in its most recent Russian casualties report.

It was unclear if these “combat losses” only counted destroyed vehicles.