Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers would take advantage of their training in Poland to leave Ukraine.
In total, the country has had more than 60,000 deserters since the start of 2024.
A growing phenomenon which is undermining Ukrainian defense lines.
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War in Ukraine: a thousand days since the Russian invasion
After more than 1,000 days of conflict and an invader who gains ground day by day, the morale of the Ukrainian troops is at its lowest. So, some soldiers choose the path of desertion. According to the revelations of Financial Times (new window)this Sunday, December 1, dozens of soldiers sent to training camps in Poland took the opportunity to permanently leave the ranks of the Ukrainian army.
Only 20% of deserters take up arms again
While men of age to serve in the army are not allowed to leave the country, the British daily affirms that some take advantage of the opportunity of training abroad to leave their country permanently. And particularly when they are deployed in the camp in the Wedrzyn region, in neighboring Poland. This is where, as part of a European Union training mission, (new window) around 600 Ukrainian soldiers are trained every two months by soldiers from across the continent. Among them, around ten soldiers disappear into the wild every month, according to information from a Polish official.
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A phenomenon which is not unique to this Polish camp. During the first ten months of the year, Ukrainian prosecutors opened 60,000 cases against soldiers who abandoned their positions in 2024. That is, almost twice as many as during the first two years of war. Among them, about 20% return to their position, according to Vadym Ivchenko, deputy of the parliamentary Defense committee.
This is the case, for example, of the infantrymen of the 123rd Ukrainian brigade. Exhausted, they decided at the end of October to abandon their positions to return home to the Mykolaiv region. Not without organizing, once back, a rare public demonstration (new window)demanding more training and weapons, particularly from kyiv's allies. Some of these deserters then returned to the front, while others are currently in pre-trial detention, according to local authorities. If convicted, deserters face prison sentences of up to 12 years.
A threat that weighs on these soldiers whose departure is undermining the organization of the Ukrainian Defense. According to a recent agency investigation Associated Press (new window)entire units abandoned their posts. Some take sick leave and never return, while others clash with their superiors and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of exchanges of fire. A phenomenon that leaves defensive lines vulnerable and accelerates territorial losses.
REPORT – A network of Ukrainian deserters dismantledSource : TF1 Info
A situation that has become “critique”, according to statements by military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko. As the war soon enters its third year, Ukraine is proving increasingly unable to rotate its soldiers to allow its exhausted troops to rest. A problem that risks getting worse as demoralized soldiers leave the ranks.
