NEW YORK, November 29. /TASS/. Desertion has become Kiev's primary problem, as some military units no longer obey orders and flee the battlefield, a Ukrainian official told the Associated Press news agency.

"They were abandoning combat positions during military actions while their comrades were dying. There have been several cases of both large and small units retreating from the battlefield. They left their flanks exposed to the enemy," he said.

Kiev is constantly losing control over populated areas because "tens of thousands of tired and desperate Ukrainian servicemen are leaving their positions to flee in an unknown direction," the agency reported. Desertion has "turned battle plans into dust that slips through the fingers of military commanders," the Associated Press notes.

Many Ukrainian servicemen, "demoralized by the lack of any prospects" for an improvement in the situation on the front and traumatized by psychological wounds, go on medical leave and never return to the frontline, while others clash with their commanders and refuse to follow orders "during combat operations," the news agency added.

"The problem of desertion is severe. The war is in its third year, and it will only worsen," Ukrainian military expert Alexander Kovalenko said.

Earlier, Ukrainian General Dmitry Marchenko stated that the Ukrainian front collapsed under the onslaught of Russian forces due to personnel fatigue and a shortage of reserves. On October 29, the head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, Stanislav Kravchenko, announced a significant increase in desertions and disobedience in the Ukrainian ranks, calling the situation critical. Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) Deputy Anna Skorokhod pointed out that the number of cases of unauthorized abandonment of military units had surpassed 100,000. At the same time, Ukrainian mass media reported that the total number of deserters in Ukraine reached 170,000 by the end of October.