The Ukrainian army is struggling with mass desertions as soldiers grow tired of the war.
 |
| Image Credit: Global Images Ukraine / Contributor / Getty |
According to The Guardian, the exact number of desertions is a secret, but official authorities admit that the number is large.
One soldier told the British newspaper that at the beginning of the Russian invasion, he volunteered for the army and “was ready to give his life,” but over time his attitude changed.
The man, codename “Viktor,” recalled how the Russians were smashing Ukrainian military positions to smithereens, and commanders were issuing unrealistic orders. While defending one of the buildings, he was wounded. He was given only a pain-killing injection and then ordered to return to the fight.
“I realized that I’m nobody. Just a number,” he said. In May of this year, he left his post to undergo treatment and never returned.
“Everyone is tired. The mood has changed. People used to hug soldiers in the streets. Now, they are afraid of being drafted,” he says.
Another soldier said he took part in offensive operations in the south of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. In the winter of 2022, he quarreled with his new commander, unsuccessfully requested a transfer, and was later wounded.
“I reached a boiling point. And I decided to go where no one would find me,” he says.
He added that he would take up arms again if the Russians entered his city or if the Ukrainian army was truly reformed along NATO lines, with the best generals. Asked if he was happy, he replied: “I’m alive. The longer the war lasts, the more people like me there will be.”
A complex problem
Olga Reshetylova, Ukraine’s commissioner for the protection of soldiers’ rights, said she understands why some people behave this way.
“It’s natural when a major war has been going on for three years. People are exhausted. They want to see their families. Their children are growing up without them. Relationships are falling apart. Wives and husbands can’t wait forever. They feel lonely,” he notes.
According to her, many soldiers have unstable mental health, and a minor conflict with a senior officer can “provoke” them to flee the unit.
“It’s a complex and confusing problem. We can’t solve it with a criminal penalty. If the choice is between death and prison, of course at that point you choose the latter,” she said.
Andriy Hrebenyuk, staff sergeant of an infantry battalion fighting in the Donetsk regional city of Veliky Novosilka, said that soldiers escape from their units “quite often.”
“Some come back. Some don’t… It’s not so much about injuries as it is about morale. They need a psychological reset. They go to their families and reappear a few months later,” he said.
He acknowledged a severe shortage of infantry but said they had enough artillery and drones. Nevertheless, he said there are hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers holding their positions.
По материалам: http://www.planet-today.com/2025/01/everyone-is-tired-crisis-grows-in.html