Ekaterina Girnyk10:59, 29.11.24

According to some sources, the actual number of deserters may reach 200,000 people.

Mass desertions deprive the Ukrainian army of much-needed manpower and undermine its battle plans at a crucial moment in the war with Russia, which could put Kiev at a disadvantage in future cease-fire negotiations.

The Associated Press reports that desertions number in the tens of thousands. Military commanders and soldiers say entire units are abandoning their posts, leaving defenses vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses.

“Some go on medical leave and never return, haunted by the trauma of war and demoralized by the bleak prospects of victory. Others clash with commanders and refuse to follow orders, sometimes in the midst of a firefight,” the AP writes.

According to the AP, more than 100,000 soldiers have been charged with desertion since Russia invaded, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. Nearly half of them have gone AWOL in the last year alone:

“At the same time, the real number of deserters could be much higher – according to one legislator, it could reach 200,000 people.”

As the publication notes, many deserters do not return after receiving medical leave. Thus, one deserter said that he initially left his unit with permission because he needed an operation. However, by the time the leave ended, he could not bring himself to return. 

“The best way to explain it is to imagine that you are sitting under fire, and from their (Russian) side there are 50 shells flying at you, and from ours – only one. Then you see how your friends are being blown to pieces, and you understand that at any second it can happen to you, too,” he said.

Desertion Turns Battle Plans into Sand

AP has learned of cases where defensive lines were seriously undermined because entire units disobeyed orders and abandoned their positions.

Ukraine’s military in September recorded a shortage of 4,000 troops on the front lines, largely due to deaths, injuries and desertions, according to one lawmaker. Most of the deserters are recent recruits.

The head of the legal department of one of the brigades, who is responsible for reviewing desertion cases and referring them to law enforcement agencies, says that he has had many such cases.

“The main thing is that they leave their combat positions during combat operations, and because of this their comrades die. We have had several situations when units, small or large, fled. They exposed their flanks, and the enemy came to these flanks and killed their brothers in arms, because those who stood in positions did not know that there was no one else nearby,” the official said.

Thus, according to the officer of the 72nd brigade, it was desertion that led to Ukraine losing Ugledar. However, the officer does not harbor any malice towards deserters.

“At this point, I don’t blame any of the soldiers in my battalion or others. … Because everyone is just very tired,” he said.

Accusation of deserters

Prosecutors and the military prefer not to press charges against soldiers who go AWOL unless they can’t be persuaded to return. But some deserters return only to go AWOL again.

As lawyer Tatyana Ivanova says, soldiers acquitted of desertion for psychological reasons create a dangerous precedent, because “then almost everyone justifies themselves (leave), because there are almost no healthy people left (in the infantry),” she says.

(c)UNIAN 2024