DW and I discussed what we think the US taxpayer should be willing to pay to each of Russia’s 150,000 soldiers in Ukraine as consideration for laying down their arms and refusing to fight for Putin any longer.
Here’s the list of what we’d be willing to pay (even if the US had to issue “Peace Bonds” to provide the funds) - assuming that Ukraine would be willing to provide the non-cash part of the “compensation” package:
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$10,000 US Dollars (or 1 million Rubles) paid to the soldier or to whomever they designate to receive the money in the event of the soldier’s death before receiving the funds.
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Ukrainian citizenship in exchange for surrender of their Russian passport and joining the Ukrainian armed forces.
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A new identity, if desired, in order to avoid being later tracked down and killed by Putin or his minions.
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Special below-market loans for their future education outside Russia.
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An additional $5,000 bonus if they are proven fluent in English (or a $2,500 bonus if they are proven fluent in French, Spanish, or German).
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Immunity from prosecution as war criminals under international law, in return for their honest testimony as to names of each of the officers who gave them orders to destroy civilian targets or to commit other war crimes against humanity.
It seems that others have had the same general idea (payment for refusal to obey Putin the war criminal), as the following articles describe:
IT Community Offers Russian Soldiers 5M Rubles in Crypto To Surrender
https://www.yahoo.com/now/community-offers-russian-soldiers-…
A Russian businessman has put a $1 million bounty on Vladimir Putin’s head, calling for military officers to arrest him as a war criminal
https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-businessman-puts-1-m…
Considering the wealth destruction Putin has caused and the war crimes Putin has already committed, it seems a $1 BILLION bounty might be more appropriate.