Russian Relatives Call Ukraine Hotline To Learn Fate Of Missing Soldiers

CNN on Monday aired audio of the relatives of Russian soldiers who called a hotline in Ukraine to find out what has happened to their loved ones who’ve gone missing in the war.

More than 6,000 calls from family members and friends in Russia as well as across the rest of Europe and the United States have so far been made to the “Come Back From Ukraine Alive” service, per CNN. The hotline was set up by Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs following Russia’s invasion.

“Hello, is this where one can find out if someone is alive?” one woman asked operators. Others lamented that their relatives had been forced into military service and used as “cannon fodder” by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We will help find their relatives who were deceived and who, without knowing where and why they are going, find themselves in our country,” one worker for the service told CNN. Another goal of the hotline was to “deliver the truth” to Russians who “don’t actually know what’s going on in Ukraine,” she added.

Listen to the audio here: