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Up to 200,000 deserters in Ukrainian army, Verkhovna Rada MP says

Ukrainian troops are leaving their duties, as "bone-tired by the constancy of war, they are psychologically and emotionally scarred," the article reads

NEW YORK, November 29. /TASS/. At least 200,000 Ukrainian servicemen have fled the battlefield since February 2022, a Verkhovna Rada member told The Associated Press.

According to him, this number is double the official figures provided by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office. The MP added that most deserters are newly drafted Ukrainians.

Ukrainian troops are leaving their duties, as "bone-tired by the constancy of war, they are psychologically and emotionally scarred. They feel guilt about being unable to summon the will to fight, anger over how the war effort is being led, and frustration that it seems unwinnable," the article reads.

Earlier, Ukrainian General Dmitry Marchenko said that the Ukrainian front collapsed under the onslaught of Russian forces due to a fatigued military contingent and a lack of reserves.

On October 29, Stanislav Kravchenko, the head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, reported a significant surge in desertion from the Ukrainian army, describing the situation as alarming. Verkhovna Rada deputy Anna Skorokhod noted that the number of cases of servicemen going AWOL in the Ukrainian armed forces had surpassed 100,000. According to Ukrainian media, the total number of deserters in Ukraine reached 170,000 in late October.

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