Conflicts

More than 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers have deserted or abandoned their units since the beginning of 2024, according to local judicial reports.

Kyiv is struggling to recruit men as its army has been decimated and exhausted after more than two years of conflict, compounded by the daily advances of Russian troops on the eastern front.

Despite lowering the legal age to join the military, the government is unable to recruit as many soldiers as Russia, which is planning a new draft this fall to mobilize more than 100,000 men.

In fact, local authorities are considering reducing penalties for deserters in an attempt to bring them back into the ranks.

While desertions have occurred since the conflict began in February 2022, the number has skyrocketed over the past two years, rising from 3,342 in 2022 to more than 15,000 two years later, according to data collected by the judiciary.

According to journalist Volodymyr Boiko, who serves in the 101st Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the real number of deserters may be as high as 150,000—ten times the official figure.

"Deserters are not being pursued—which has led to the problem building up over the past two and a half years. Now the situation is at a deadlock. It is impossible to bring such a large number of deserters to justice," he wrote on Facebook.

(QG - Source : Le Figaro / Picture: © Unsplash)