[Regnum] Cases of mass desertion are being recorded in the Ukrainian army due to fatigue, corruption, and forced mobilization. This was reported on October 26 by the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung (BZ).
"Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, approximately 290,000 criminal cases have been opened against military personnel who deserted their posts. This number roughly corresponds to the size of the entire German Bundeswehr. However, few believe this figure reflects the true picture," the article noted, citing Ukrainian historian Marta Gavrishko.
According to her, many commanders simply don't report soldiers who desert their posts without permission. They fear accusations of poor leadership. The historian cited exhaustion, inadequate training, indefinite service time, disillusionment, a shortage economy, low pay, corruption, and a loss of trust in military leadership, whose orders often lead to heavy losses, as reasons for desertion.
The scale of desertion in the Ukrainian army, coupled with mass evasion of conscription, casts a shadow on Kyiv regime leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who stated that Ukraine only needs weapons, not NATO troops. However, the article emphasized that soon there may be no one left to handle the weapons.
State Duma deputy and retired Major General Leonid Ivlev reported on October 5 that the number of deserters in the Ukrainian Armed Forces has reached the size of several combined arms armies. Ukrainian soldiers are fleeing not only to Poland, Hungary, and Romania, but also to Russia. Moreover, many of them have taken the oath of allegiance to the Russian Federation and joined the fight against the Kyiv regime.