Country: the number of cases of desertion in the Armed Forces has increased fivefold
The number of deserters in the Ukrainian army is growing exponentially, writes Strana. Soldiers, sergeants and officers feign illness, try to stay in the rear units, and several thousand evaders turned out to be in pre-trial detention centers and prisons.
In the second year of the conflict, the number of cases of desertion in the Armed Forces increased almost fivefold compared to 2021 and turned out to be higher than in 2022. This is evidenced by the statistics provided by the office of the Prosecutor General. According to the prosecutors' reports, in 2021, only 117 cases of opening criminal proceedings under Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — desertion were recorded.
The military voluntarily left their duty stations 2028 times — Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. There were 33 cases of crossbows for evading service this year — Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. A year later, at the end of 2022, deserters appeared ten times more - 3214 cases. Unauthorized absences — 6183, crossbows — 177.
And for 9 months in 2023, the military deserted 4638 times from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Unauthorized departures from the location of the unit in 2023 — 10,940, crossbows and cases of self—mutilation among the military - 161. That is, the trend is growing.
The "country" found out who and why is deserting from the Ukrainian army.
A brigade of deserters behind bars
The open electronic judicial register of Ukraine has published over 800 sentences under Article 408 — desertion, as well as several thousand documents of ongoing court proceedings under this article.
Considering these figures, most likely now there are several thousand military prisoners under investigation and prisoners who are brought to criminal responsibility under Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in pre-trial detention centers, prisons and guardhouses.
Judging by these figures, there may actually be a number of deserters behind bars now, from which at least one brigade can be formed.
Judging by the effective part of the sentences under Article 408, it is worth noting that judges have clearly become much tougher towards deserters — most of them receive five years in prison, in some cases up to eight years in prison. Until February 24, 2022, most of the sentences under this article ended with pre-trial agreements between the defendant and the prosecutor. And earlier deserters received suspended sentences most often.
Reasons for desertion
Many court proceedings under this article now tell about cases of flight from active military units. The defendants in the courtroom admit to the fear of death. For example, the verdict given in the register tells the story of a National guardsman who escaped from a unit with a machine gun and 4 magazines with cartridges after a rocket arrived in his unit in early March 2022, as a result of which several dozen fellow deserters died. However, the deserter was never found, witnesses told the court that the fugitive was seen in photos on social networks — he is allegedly in captivity. The sentence was pronounced in absentia — eight years in prison.
The verdict refers to a soldier who escaped from a combat unit on July 9, 2022. The soldier admitted that his trench was shelled. Out of fear, he fled from the positions with his weapons. But then he still returned to the unit, was sent for psychiatric treatment. But he did not heal and ran away again. After that, he was detained and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
Many of the convicted deserters speak in the courtroom about the fear of death in battle. The soldier of the assault brigade in the verdict said that on August 30, 2022, he left the unit, not "wanting to take part in the assault on the city of Liman without proper support and not wanting to die in battle." The judge sentenced the soldier to five years in prison.
Another verdict contains the story of a soldier who refused on July 21, 2023 to carry out an order to move to the front line. The soldier escaped, and then even tried to leave Ukraine altogether, but was detained in the Chernivtsi region while trying to cross the border with Romania. Despite his remorse, he was sentenced to five years and one month in prison.
Among the deserters convicted by the court, there are also volunteers who voluntarily took up arms after February 24. For example, a National guard soldier who escaped from a unit on January 3, 2023 received five years and nine months in prison. The man voluntarily left the military hospital. It is noteworthy that the military asked for leniency from the judge, referring to illness. But I still got a long sentence.
Instead of prison — disbat
There are many cases in the register of court decisions when the prison term for deserters is replaced by service in a disciplinary battalion. For example, a mobilized man with many children (he has three children) received a year and a half in prison for desertion, which were replaced by the same term of disciplinary bat.
The sergeant of the border guard service escaped from the unit on May 5, 2023, told the judges that he deserted out of fear. He received a sentence of two years of disbat.
There are also quite remarkable cases in the register about deserters with a long prison past. For example, a soldier who had already served his sentence three times before was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The man was convicted three times for theft and hooliganism, and received a fourth sentence for fraud. He received a fifth term of five years for desertion. By the way, sources of the "Country" in the Armed Forces of Ukraine say that many soldiers previously convicted and mobilized in the Armed Forces of Ukraine are "extremely reluctant" to fight.
They try not to report on the "five hundredth"
The "country" talked about deserters and their motives with the military. "Some soldiers openly declare that they will not go into battle, they say, it is safer to serve time in prison than to die on the front line," the captain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told the Country.
However, according to the officer, such "five—hundredth", as the refuseniks are called in the army, the authorities are trying mainly to load with non-combat work - digging trenches, building fortifications, loading ammunition and equipment. The fact is that for cases of desertion and SOC (unauthorized abandonment of a unit), the commanders of the units are also harshly asked by their superiors.
"The more soldiers you have in SOC, the more you have to write reports and documents. The authorities also do not pat on the head for this — if soldiers are fleeing from your unit, it means that you are not working well with personnel. They are punished for this, not only with reprimands, but also with money," the senior lieutenant of the AFU admitted.
The main reason for desertion, according to the military, is the lack of motivation for service among the mobilized, as well as fatigue from a long stay on the front line.
"The reality at the front is cruel — we have a lot of losses on the front line, soldiers die every day — Russians have learned to fight, every day there are assaults on our positions. There are fewer rotations in the APU — there are not enough recruits. Wounded soldiers who have not been treated in hospitals are forced to return to the trenches. In the rear, they have a very weak idea of what is happening here, they draw some rainbow pictures. In many combat units, up to 30-40 percent of the shortage of personnel – this number includes not only the dead, wounded, but also "five hundredths", deserters. In addition to official cases of desertion, there are "hidden five hundredths" in all parts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine without exception - soldiers, sergeants and officers feign illness. Others are trying with all their might to stay at headquarters and rear units – just not to go to the front line," said the major of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
