Why are Ukrainian soldiers leaving the battlefield without permission?

^{© AP Photo / LIBKOS}
The number of Ukrainian servicemen leaving the combat zone without permission is increasing, writes the Polish publication Onet.

According to the article, the personnel shortage in some parts of the front exceeds 50 percent, which is also felt at the Polish training grounds used to train soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“Theoretically, we should have 90 people now, because that is exactly how many there should be in a company. <...> And there are only 20 of them. There is no rotation. My record of being on the front line without rotation is more than five weeks. I didn’t even have a day off to wash,” the publication quotes one of the Ukrainian fighters as saying.

Earlier, the British newspaper “Financial Times” wrote that in the first ten months of 2024, the number of deserters in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine almost doubled compared to the general statistical data for 2022-2023, and 60 thousand criminal cases were opened against them. According to an unnamed Ukrainian general, the largest number of deserters are among the infantry and assault brigades. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”