A Choice That Saves Lives: FREEДОМ Premieres the Documentary “Хочу жити”

24.06.2026, 11:30 uatv.ua

Today, May 23, FREEДOM, Ukraine’s international broadcasting channel targeting Russian-speaking audiences abroad, will premiere its original documentary “Хочу жити”, dedicated to the unique state initiative of the same name that enables Russian servicemen to voluntarily surrender to Ukrainian forces safely.

The documentary is designed as an informational and psychological project aimed at weakening the resilience of Russian troops by dismantling myths about Ukrainian captivity and demonstrating the effectiveness of Ukraine’s voluntary surrender system. Through the stories of people on both sides of the front line — Russian servicemen who chose to surrender and Ukrainian participants in the process, including hotline operators, intelligence officers, human rights advocates, and media professionals — the film shows step by step how the system works in practice.

“Хочу жити” is a state project of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, implemented with the support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR). FREEДОМ is one of the project’s ten main communication platforms.

In the film, HUR representative Andrii Yusov emphasizes the humanitarian nature of the initiative.

“For those who disagree with Putin’s regime, for those who did not want to become killers or war criminals, this humanitarian initiative was created,” he says.

He also highlights the complexity of surrender operations.

“It is effectively a life-saving plan that may even involve demining sections of the front line and temporarily ceasing fire from our side during the operation,” Yusov explains.

The project is designed for three main groups: Russian servicemen wishing to surrender voluntarily, those prepared to switch sides and fight alongside Ukraine, and relatives of Russian soldiers seeking to save their loved ones.

One of those who used the initiative is a Russian serviceman named Sergey. His decision was shaped by his critical attitude toward Russian propaganda and his search for alternative sources of information online.

“I was already opposed to the authorities. I spent hours watching YouTube. I came across videos of prisoners of war telling their stories, and beneath them were links to various projects,” he recalls.

That is how Sergey learned about “Хочу жити”, a decision that ultimately saved his life.

According to project participants, Russian soldiers are often subjected to triple pressure: state propaganda, their military command, and the security services. For years they have been intimidated with stories of torture in Ukrainian captivity and often fear surrender more than dying under artillery fire. These fears are reinforced by the brutal hierarchy within the Russian military, where public executions, torture pits, and barrier units make retreat virtually impossible.

Erik, a former senior sergeant in a Russian “Storm” assault unit and now a volunteer with the Freedom of Russia Legion, experienced this system firsthand. As a commander, he was forced to send soldiers into deadly assaults under the watch of barrier troops. Realizing that human life was treated as expendable by the Russian system, he used the “Хочу жити” project to break free from that cycle of violence.

“I realized I didn’t want to be part of this killing machine. It was a chance to start correcting what my country had done,” he says.

A representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion known as “Caesar” notes that the project offers Russian servicemen not only survival, but a fundamentally different role.

“We offer them an alternative: either you die for Putin, or you choose life and perhaps the struggle for a free Russia. Some people simply want to wait out the war in a prisoner-of-war camp, and that is their legal right. But there are also those who understand that to end this war, the cause that started it must be eliminated,” he explains.

While Russian propaganda spreads false stories about the alleged brutality of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, real-life experiences tell a different story. Human rights advocate and serviceman Maksym Butkevych, who himself endured Russian captivity, recalls how Ukrainian prisoners consciously refused to become like their captors.

“One of our men in captivity once suggested that Russians should experience at least part of the suffering we endured. But other Ukrainian prisoners immediately stopped him. Their position was clear: we must not become like them, and we must not behave as they behave toward us.”

After his release, Butkevych personally witnessed Ukraine’s commitment to its principles.

“When I returned, I was very happy to learn that Ukraine honors its obligations in the treatment of Russian prisoners of war. We preserve our humanity even in the hardest of times,” he says.

Russian security services have attempted to block and imitate the initiative’s work. Hotline operator “Katla” warns that the FSB creates fake channels that closely resemble the official “Хочу жити” resources.

“They fill them with bots so that people think they are genuine and reveal their identities. That’s why it is very important to verify links,” she explains.

For Katla and her colleagues, every successful operation is also a contribution to bringing Ukrainians home.

“It’s impossible to describe how important this is. When someone on the other end of the line says, ‘I don’t want to kill,’ you realize that your work helps build the exchange fund and brings our people home,” she says.

The documentary “Хочу жити” will be adapted into other languages and distributed across Ukraine’s international broadcasting platforms to reach the widest possible global audience and demonstrate that Ukraine is fighting not only for its territory, but also for fundamental civilizational values, opposing barbarism with humanity and the rule of law.

Watch the premiere of “Хочу жити” on FREEДОМ and on FREEДОМ’s YouTube channels.

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