DONETSK, May 2. /TASS/. The number of deserters from Ukraine’s armed forces in various areas of the line of engagement in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) is growing, Yan Gagin, an advisor to Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin, told TASS on Tuesday.

"In various sections of the front-line, attempts by Ukrainian servicemen to leave the combat zone are being registered more and more often. I cannot say that this is a mass phenomenon," the official said. According to him, Ukrainian troops are trying to leave the line of engagement disguised as civilians.

One of the most vivid examples is the story of a Ukrainian serviceman, Stanislav, from Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine). He deserted from the Ukrainian army in May 2022, when Ukrainian troops began to shell his native Artyomovsk and was in hiding for nearly a year, taking refuge in a cellar until servicemen from the Wagner private military company evacuated him. According to Stanislav, a Ukrainian artillery crew deployed not far from his unit shelled the residence of a local man after the latter refused to billet them in his home. Currently, the Ukrainian serviceman is living at a temporary housing center in the DPR. He underwent filtration and told his story to Russian law enforcement. He did not disclose his surname, fearing reprisals against his friends and family who live in areas controlled by the Kiev regime.

"Around May 24 of last year I told [my commander] that I was going to get my relatives to evacuate [them from Artyomovsk] using a service vehicle. [Instead,] I stocked up on food and went into hiding. At first at an acquaintance’s apartment, then at a friend’s; I spent a month at his place, then went to my relatives [who were staying] in a bomb shelter. I remained there for the rest of the time until I was evacuated; we were specifically waiting for Russian troops to arrive," he told reporters.

Artyomovsk was a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian army’s supplies in Donbass. As Gagin told TASS on April 18, Russian forces were in control of nearly 90% of the city’s territory. According to Pushilin, Russian forces made advances in the city’s northwestern and western sections, but the situation in Artyomosk remained tense.