CNN Airs Audio of Russian Soldiers’ Relatives Calling a Ukrainian Hotline to Find Out If Their Loved Ones Are Alive

People in Russia are calling a hotline in Ukraine in an effort to learn the fate of their loved ones serving in the Russian military. On Monday, CNN played audio from some of the calls.

“Hello, is this where one can find out if someone is alive?” asked a woman during a call.

“Hello, do you have information about my husband?” said a woman in another.

“Sorry to bother you, I’m calling about my brother,” inquired another.

“These are the voices of Russians,” CNN’s Alex Marquardt reported while on assignment in Ukraine. “Parents, wives, siblings desperately searching for answers, calling to find information, anything on Russian soldiers they’ve lost contact with who are fighting in Ukraine, who may be wounded, captured, or even killed.”

Established by Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, the hotline has received more than 6,000 calls. Marquardt spoke with “Christina,” who takes some of the calls. (CNN protected her actual identity.)

“Your country is being invaded, but you also feel the need to help these Russian families.” Marquardt said to her. “Why?”

She replied, “We will help find their relatives who were deceived and who, without knowing where and why they are going, find themselves in our country.”

Christina also said she believes the hotline will help stop the Russian invasion. “They don’t actually know what’s going on in Ukraine,” she explained.

One Russian woman sobbed her way through a phone call. “This is not our fault,” she said. “Please understand that they were forced.”

“I understand,” Christina replied.

“I also want this to end,” the woman stated. “I want everyone to live in peace.”

The origins of the calls aren’t just from Russia, but all over the world. Marquardt spoke with one Russian soldier’s relative in Virginia who’s been trying to find out his whereabouts.

“We do realized that all the signs are pointing to that it’s most likely he was killed in action,” the man explained. “Everyone’s scared to talk.”

Christina said the goal is not only to give families accurate information, but also to spur everyday Russians into protesting against their government and bring an end to the war.

Watch above via CNN.

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