Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
According to the “I Want to Live” project, more than 10,000 Russian soldiers have surrendered during the war.
In the early 19th century Russia, the patriotic phrase “Russians never surrender” started growing out of military folklore and patriotic legend.
It was heavily popularized during WWI and since spread to popular culture and literature.
The myth was reinforced during WWII (dubbed the “Great Patriotic War” in the Soviet Union) with Joseph Stalin even declaring that any soldier who surrendered or was captured by the enemy was a traitor to the nation.
Later, the “Not a step back” order was introduced, which established barrier units of Soviet troops ordered to shoot their own if the front troops were trying to retreat or to surrender.
Even though the Soviet Union has since been dissolved, the “Russians never surrender” propaganda is still promoted, but the reality on the ground is very much different from the Kremlin narrative.
250 Russians captured
During the latest phase of Operation Vivaldi, Ukrainian troops have managed to capture more than 250 Russian soldiers.
Brigadier-General Andrii Biletskyi, who commands Ukraine’s Third Army Corps, said in an update on the operation that it is not just small numbers of Russian soldiers who are surrendering to the Ukrainians.
“The idea that ‘Russians don’t surrender’ from movies in practice turned into entire units surrendering in full — including officers, pilots and artillerymen,” the general said.
Ukraine’s Third Army Corps is the leading corps in Operation Vivaldi, which consists of four phases, dubbed “seasons” — a play on the famous “Four Seasons” concerto by composer Antonio Vivaldi.
The Ukrainian “I Want to Live” project, which offers Russian soldiers a way to surrender peacefully, reported in January 2026 that more than 10,000 Russian soldiers had been captured in the war so far.
This number has likely increased since then.
2,000 Russians gone
According to Biletskyi, the latest “season” of the operation has also seen over 2,000 Russian losses (he did not specify if this means killed or includes wounded).
Additionally, Ukraine has managed to take back a substantial amount of territory from Russian occupation, with 176 square kilometers now liberated over the course of Operation Vivaldi.
