The newspaper described the practice in an article published on its website on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The NYT said the programme began when the Ukrainian military in late November released footage of a Russian soldier throwing down his weapon, raising his hands and following a path set out by a drone overhead, leading him to Ukrainian soldiers.
A few weeks later, Ukraine’s General Staff released an instructional video explaining how Russian soldiers can give up to Ukrainian drones, according to the NYT.
The video is now part of a wide-ranging effort by Ukraine to encourage Russian soldiers to surrender, the newspaper reported.
Dubbed "I Want to Live," the project includes a phone hotline, a website and a Telegram channel, all dedicated to communicating to Russian soldiers and their families, the NYT said.
According to an instructional video for Russian soldiers, unveiled in early December, those wishing to defect must first call the "I Want to Live" project for instructions and coordinates, the NYT reported.
It quoted a Ukrainian defence ministry official as saying that Ukraine has already received 1.2 million inquiries about the drive, most of them from Russia.
Tuesday is day 300 of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, nytimes.com
