As the saying goes, everything has a price — it appears this is also the case for peace and a stop to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
On Monday (28 Feb), the Defence Minister of Ukraine gave an offer for any Russian soldier willing to lay down their arms and surrender voluntarily.
In a Facebook post, Minister Oleksii Reznikov says Ukraine will offer 5 million rubles (~S$61,540 at the time of writing) and full amnesty for any Russian soldier who’s willing to come forth.
He appealed to the sensibilities of those soldiers and tells them they can start a new life with the opportunity.
In the Facebook Post, Mr Reznikov notes that the morale of the Russian troops is low.
According to the defence minister, the soldiers were sent to fight across the border against their wishes — either through propaganda, intimation, or a mix of both.
He then states the importance Ukraine places on human life and hence will be offering monetary compensation to Russian soldiers in exchange for their surrender.
The initiative is supported by the international IT community whose donations have funded the movement, reports Yahoo! Finance.
To surrender, Russian soldiers would reportedly have to stop all acts of war crimes.
These include crimes against humanity and all other illegal activity dictated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Next, soldiers would need to surrender or destroy their military equipment. They would also need to produce a white flag as a sign of their surrender.
Lastly, Minister Reznikov states that surrenderers would need to utter the codeword “million”.
They will only be able to receive their compensation and protection after meeting these conditions.
Weighing up the pros and cons, the proposal may sound idealistic but provides a reasonable chance at peace.
Now that there’s an offer on the table, the onus is for the Russian soldiers to choose between conflict or peace.
We hope they make the right decision and put an end to the armed violence.
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Featured image adapted from Oleksii Reznikov on Facebook & with Ukraine on Flickr.
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