Ukraine reports a surge in Russians offering to defect after a helicopter pilot switched sides...

A Russian pilot who defected with a Mi-8 helicopter last month has inspired a massive uptick in calls to Ukraine's surrender hotline, an official said on Monday.

Andrii Yusov, of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, told Radio Svoboda that there has been a 70 percent daily uptick of calls to "I Want to Live", a state-run project which allows Russian soldiers to arrange to give themselves up rather than fight in the war.

"There is considerable progress on the hotline of 'I Want to Live' and, separately, on other communication channels," Ysuov said, according to a translation by the Ukrainian Pravda.

"After the successful operation Synytsia with the Mi-8 and the pilot, the number of Russian army servicemen considering such a scenario has increased," he added.