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Military operation in Ukraine

Ukrainian sources put number of desertion cases at around 200,000

Ukraine has no official statistics on such cases at present, said Ukrainian lawyer Vladislav Mikhaylenko

MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. The number of cases of desertion and absence without official leave (AWOL) in the Ukrainian armed forces reached 200,000 a while ago, Ukrainian lawyer Vladislav Mikhaylenko wrote citing the country’s security services.

"I’ve spoken to several officers from related services unofficially and informally, off the record - they are my acquaintances. According to my sources, the number of desertion and AWOL cases crossed the 200,000 mark long ago," he told the Novosti Live YouTube channel.

In his words, Ukraine has no official statistics on such cases at present.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that more soldiers left the Ukrainian army in the first ten months of 2024 than in the previous two years. On October 29, the head of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, Stanislav Kravchenko, mentioned a significant increase in the number of desertions and disobedience of orders in the army, calling the situation threatening. Verkhovna Rada member Anna Skorokhod pointed out that the number of desertions exceeded 100,000. According to media calculations, the overall number of deserters reached 170,000 as of October 2024.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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