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Ukrainian lawmaker laments that 'thousands' defect from armed forces

Prior to that, the Ukrainian parliament has passed a bill allowing to pardon AWOL servicemen, who abandoned their posts for the first time, if they agree to resume their military service before the pretrial investigation is completed

© Vitaly Zalessky/TASS

MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Desertion has become a widespread problem in the Ukrainian armed forces, with servicemen abandoning positions in "thousands," said Alexander Fediyenko, a member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament).

Prior to that, the Ukrainian parliament has passed a bill allowing to pardon AWOL servicemen, who abandoned their posts for the first time, if they agree to resume their military service before the pretrial investigation is completed.

"We are having thousands of deserters, who had abandoned their positions for a variety of reasons, but are ready to come back and fight," Fediyenko wrote on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, another Rada member Ruslan Gorbenko informed that around 80,000 criminal cases against servicemen who abandoned their positions have been launched.

Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the chief of staff at the president’s office, admitted in early August that troops on the frontline are weary of combat, military losses and shortages of weapons and ammunition. Political observer and military officer Kirill Sazonov said even experienced servicemen are war-weary, having to spend lengthy periods of time on the frontline without proper rotation. Some of them refuse to follow orders and abandon their positions, he added.

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