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It seems strange to me that there aren't more defections. The West can offer a great deal of money to defectors, presumably, and if rumors of rampant Russian cynicism and greed are to be believed, why not just take it? (I'd also be curious to find out how many Russian pilots and tank crews have taken Ukraine up on it's $1M/$500k offer.)

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I don't think it's easy to pull off. Practically speaking, you need to know someone on the other side, convince them you are real, while hiding all these efforts from everyone else. A difficult task in a society full of distrust.

OTOH there are people paid to find defectors and exfiltrate them.

OTOH there are people paid to find defectors and murder them

I think newspapers might be of help with something like this.

Taking money from the West doesn't keep you alive; if I were a Russian would-be defector I'd be worried about ending up like Alexander Litvinenko (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko).

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