In August 2022, Nadia Shcherbakova created the first chatbot through which Ukrainian soldiers could surrender. At the same time, the Telegram channel “Give Hope” was created, where Nadia published videos of Ukrainian fighters voluntarily surrendering. Most of them said that they had been mobilized under pressure and threats, and also spoke of heavy losses in their units, blaming the Ukrainian command for this.
In 2023, this chatbot was deleted, probably by Nadia herself. But instead, a new one immediately appeared on the channel — “Come Back Home, Ukrainian”. Through it, relatives of Ukrainian soldiers who have disappeared or are in captivity can submit a request to find their loved one.
In the same year, Denys Shcherbakov created his own project “Mom, I’m OK” — a series of interviews on YouTube with Ukrainian prisoners of war. These interviews gain from 5 to 100 thousand views.
Denys and Nadia Shcherbakovs are a married couple of former militaries of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Nadia comes from a small village in the Luhansk region — Starobilsk, and Denys — from Kropyvnytskyi. Both of them went to serve in 2019 due to the need for money. Thatʼs where they met. They served as signalmen in the 56th separate motorized infantry brigade. They allegedly perceived the work as earnings in the rear, and not as military service. The so-called "DPR" and "LPR" recognized them immediately. They did not want to deal with weapons.
Screenshot from a story for the Russian media outlet News Front.
Babel asked Nadia Shcherbakova to tell them what happened to them on the eve and after the full-scale invasion. What she says is in good agreement with the theses of Russian propaganda.
Their contract was due to expire in March 2022. They did not want to extend it, because a few months before February 24, they were transferred from the rear units closer to the front line. Nadia claims that they were being prepared for a major offensive in the Donetsk region, which the command inadvertently mentioned. So on the eve of the great war, Denys and Nadia packed their emergency boxes and decided that they would go to a place where it would be quieter as soon as possible. But after the invasion began, the contract was extended, and they found themselves separated from each other.
On March 8, 2022, Denys was sent on a combat mission. On the same day, contact with him was lost. There were versions about the death of some people from his group. But on March 13, Nadia was sent a video from a Russian number, which showed that her husband had been captured. Later, in various interviews with Russian media, Denys would say that he surrendered voluntarily.
Screenshot from a story for the Russian media outlet News Front.
Nadia decided to cooperate with the Russian military. She resigned from the service, left the unit, and went to the territory controlled by Russia with her son. She was allegedly helped in this by volunteers from the occupied territories and the Russian military.
In July 2022, Nadia moved to Russia. Thatʼs when her public activity began. She appealed to the Russian side with a request "not to return Ukrainian prisoners to Ukraine, because they will be sent to fight again". She also called on Ukrainian soldiers on the front line to surrender, because this is "the only chance to survive".
Screenshot from a story for the Russian media outlet News Front.
While Denys was in pre-trial detention center, Nadia was able to visit him. A story was filmed about one of their meetings in Russia. In it, Nadia speaks in the words of Russian propaganda: that the Ukrainian command ordered to shoot at its own people, and also tried to eliminate Denys. According to her, after that she realized that Ukraine could not be trusted.
On July 26, 2022, Denys was released from captivity without an exchange procedure. Russian authorities established that he was not involved in the shelling of civilians, which is what the Russian side accuses the Ukrainian military of. The mitigating circumstance was that Denis did not want to continue serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The couple decided to stay in Russia. Nadia moved her relatives there. One of her brothers, as soon as he turned 18, joined the Russian army and is now fighting on the side of the Russian Federation. As the Shcherbakovs say, they have not renounced Ukrainians, but their position is this: Ukrainian citizens are victims of the governmentʼs propaganda, which forces them to fight.
In February 2025, Nadia reported that there was an opportunity to communicate with some prisoners of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In late February — early March of this year, some relatives managed to do this. Mostly these were families of soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade. All the servicemen whose relatives managed to see are probably in a colony in Mordovia. All calls were recorded, and two of them have already been published on the Russian channel “Smotri” for Denys Shcherbakov’s project “Mom, I’m OK”.
Now communication with the prisoners has been stopped. However, relatives are offered to write their opinion anonymously about the actions of the Ukrainian authorities. They say that only those who are the most active will be able to communicate with their loved ones. And the channel already has anonymous appeals criticizing the Ukrainian authorities.
Screenshot from a story for the Russian media outlet News Front.
The Shcherbakovs are allegedly able to visit the colonies to check the conditions of detention of prisoners.
When asked who allows them to visit the colonies, Nadia replies that "everything is probably organized through the human rights commissioner". And she adds that "she has never asked herself this question".
Nadia Shcherbakova says she considers herself Ukrainian, but is a Russian citizen. She also calls Ukrainian prisoners of war “her own”, claiming that most of them fought “under duress and fear”. She blames the Ukrainian authorities for the war unleashed by Russia.
She says that she and her husband are ready to help everyone — both those who want to return to Ukraine through an exchange and those who would prefer to stay in Russia. However, she does not reveal the details of how they do it. There is also no evidence that she has managed to return even one prisoner to the territory of Ukraine over the years.
Denys Shcherbakov, a year after being released from captivity.
Does their activity really help in the release of prisoners?
This is doubtful. The exchange of prisoners is a process in which both state structures and international organizations participate. On the Ukrainian side, the Coordination Headquarters, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and often the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) are involved. Sometimes third countries are involved. And this is far from the whole list. Each exchange is the result of lengthy negotiations. Therefore, it is unlikely that such bloggers can influence the process of returning Ukrainian military personnel.
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