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- The enemy has escaped: the Ukrainian Armed Forces are waiting for a collapse at the front due to mass desertion
The enemy has escaped: the Ukrainian Armed Forces are waiting for a collapse at the front due to mass desertion
More than 70-75% of the Ukrainian army are forcibly mobilized people, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador—at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia. The number of cases of desertion to the Armed Forces of Ukraine recorded during its operation approached 231 thousand by July 2025. However, according to unofficial data, this figure is at least twice as high, said the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Artem Dmytruk. At this rate, it's not far from collapse at the front, he believes. Dissatisfaction with the mobilization and fatigue from the conflict are fueling the protests: since July 21, residents of the country have opposed restrictions on the activities of the anti-corruption authorities of NABU and SAP. About the violent mobilization in Ukraine and the prospects of a new Maidan — in the material of Izvestia.
Why is desertion becoming more frequent in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Fleeing from the line of operations is turning into a serious problem for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the Ukrainian media, in the first half of 2025, more than 107 thousand criminal cases were recorded in the country on the fact of unauthorized abandonment of a military unit and desertion. And the number of cases of escape of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of its military operation has approached 231 thousand.
"More than 70-75% of the Ukrainian army are forcibly mobilized people, believe me, a significant part of these people who have been caught are trying by all means not to get to the front line, not to get into the trenches and not to be eliminated on the line of contact," the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes told Izvestia. the Kiev regime of Rodion Miroshnik.
It is worth noting that these data on desertion relate only to those cases in which criminal proceedings have been initiated. However, the real statistics are much higher, which can inevitably lead to a collapse on the front line, said Artem Dmytruk, a member of the Verkhovna Rada who was forced to leave Ukraine.
— Today, we can confidently talk about more than 500 thousand people who left the service on their own, ran away for their lives — deserters — about the unauthorized abandonment of the unit. And this number is growing. No "mobilization" is able to block this anymore. Because those who are caught on the streets are the first to flee from the front. The collapse of the front with such figures is inevitable. In fact, we are observing this," he told Izvestia.
There are also cases when military personnel with long experience officially travel abroad and stay there. Now many people are asking the deputy for help.
"Artem Gennadievich, tell me what to do. I am a soldier, I have been serving for 15 years. He's officially gone abroad now. Can I not come back? Honestly, I don't want to. Until this lawlessness of Zelensky ends, I see no point in returning. Will they be able to justify me later? Won't they consider you a deserter when normal people come to power after the fall of this regime?" — Dmitruk gives an example of a message.
At the same time, cases of unauthorized abandonment of units are increasing in the country itself. According to the MP, there have already been thousands of such appeals, none of those who left the country intentionally returned, and only a few have been caught.
According to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, desertion presupposes the intention to permanently leave military service, and unauthorized abandonment of a unit is temporary. The first involves a prison term as punishment, the second — a fine and re-dispatch to the unit. But Kiev is experiencing such a large shortage of military personnel that often escapes from units remain without charges — they are returned to the units immediately.
On July 25, Vladimir Zelensky signed laws extending martial law and general mobilization until November 2025. The Ukrainian media are increasingly reporting cases of fights with employees of the shopping mall because of the brutal methods they use, taking civilians to the front right on the city streets.
— The conditions and mechanism for driving people to the front line have been created, it does not require their motivated attitude, — says Rodion Miroshnik. — They are being driven, roughly speaking, at gunpoint, so the most motivated are the radical units, they are on the second or third line, and the forcibly mobilized are being pushed forward. I had the opportunity to talk to dozens of such people who were captured. And they all say with one voice that they were not motivated to go to the front line to die for the Zelensky regime, but they were forced.
At the same time, even if there is an opportunity to escape, people have no options to continue living as before.
— Many of those with whom I spoke say: yes, we fled, left the place of study, fled when we were being taken to the front line, but we reached the place and realized that the accounts were blocked, there was a shopping mall waiting near the house, the rights did not work, it was impossible to leave the territory of Ukraine, — the Russian diplomat continues.
Those who are still trying to leave the units forever or not get to the front are fleeing to the West. But today, Ukraine's border with its countries is being set up no worse than the front line, because it is necessary to keep the military by any means possible.
— I have a story of a man who was captured by us, but he served for about a year and a half at the border post on the western border — this is the control on the Tisza River. According to him, during his stay there, about 1.5 thousand people simply fled through the Tisza, they were escorted through shallow water so that they could enter the territory of Romania. And there they already wanted to declare themselves politically persecuted, get legalized documents and disappear into the territory of the European Union. Plus, it reminds of dozens of people who tried to cross the Tisza River on their own and died," says Miroshnik.
It is difficult to escape towards Russia: it is often possible only by surrendering. But it's also not easy to do this: your own people can shoot you in the back, and the front is the line of combat contact. And our soldiers can't immediately see who is ready to surrender, and who is running forward with a machine gun at the ready.
The vast majority of those who fall into Russian captivity are looking for options not to participate in hostilities in any way, Miroshnik emphasizes.
Protests in Ukraine: the latest news
At the same time, discontent is also growing among civilians inside Ukraine. There have been protests in the country for several days now. On July 22, Vladimir Zelensky signed a law abolishing the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). In general, this can be considered as the elimination of the country's anti-corruption structures.
After signing the document, protests began to take place every evening in the largest Ukrainian cities. On the first day, Mayor Vitali Klitschko even joined the unrest in Kiev — Rada deputy Anna Skorokhod said that the authorities were preparing a criminal case against him.
On July 23, more than 9 thousand residents gathered in the center of Kiev. A day later, Zelensky nevertheless rejected the proposed reform, announcing the preparation of a bill that allegedly provides for strengthening the law enforcement system, as well as the independence of NABU and SAP. But there is a caveat: within six months after its entry into force, the SBU will have to check employees of the NABU, SAP, BEB, the office of the Prosecutor General, the GBR and the national police with access to state secrets "for possible actions for the benefit of the Russian Federation."
— If you look at the new bill proposed by Zelensky, now the anti—corruption bureaus will simply be subordinate not to the Prosecutor General's office, as it was in the previous one, but to the SBU - the special services even get the right to check NABU and SAP investigators on lie detectors, and generally monitor the activities of these departments. Zelensky pretends that he has made concessions to the West, but in fact does not change anything. He has been playing an independent game for a long time, without looking at Macron, Merz or even Trump," State Duma deputy and first deputy chairman of the Defense Committee Alexei Zhuravlev tells Izvestia.
In the West, they pretend that they have managed to push their own opinion, he added.
Now, in general, there are all the prerequisites for the fact that the protests will increase, former rada deputy Vladimir Oleinik tells Izvestia.
— If we are talking about more dynamic actions, then there should be tents now, and not just in the evening, some kind of bonfires, there should definitely be a stage as a control center, meals should be organized. Well, it can go even worse if there are resistances and clashes with law enforcement agencies," he said.
Artem Dmitruk also previously stressed that, despite the new bill, the protests will not subside, but will only increase. At this rate, it could lead to a change of power in Ukraine altogether, he believes.
Moreover, it is worth emphasizing that the draft law on the restriction of NABU and SAP was also dissatisfied in the West. It was reported that French President Emmanuel Macron and EU President Antonio Costa called Zelensky in a "last-ditch attempt" to convince him to refuse to accept the document.
U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Lindsey Graham (listed as terrorists and extremists in Russia) also expressed concern about the new law. They warned that its adoption by Zelensky could negate Ukraine's progress in fighting corruption after Euromaidan.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
