Crisis in the ranks: The surge of desertions in Putin’s army

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the initiative as a "special military operation" that was expected to be quick and straightforward. However, nearly three years on, it has degenerated into a protracted and grueling conflict, that doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon.

Russian soldiers, now weary and disillusioned, are increasingly abandoning their posts, leading to a significant rise in desertions from military units in Ukraine.

However, it isn't just war exhaustion that is leading to Russian soldiers deserting their posts. Some want out because they believe that the war they are fighting is unfair or because they feel that they have been sent to the slaughterhouse.

According to the independent news outlet Mediazone, in the first six months of 2023, there were 2076 criminal cases opened against Russian soldiers accused of deserting.

Radio Free Europe points out that it is double the amount of cases brought against suspected deserters in 2022 and three times higher than in 2021, prior to the war in Ukraine.

However, we must keep in mind that most analysts agree that the real figures are probably higher, as Putin likes to keep all information about the state of his military under wraps.

But what happens when a soldier decides they no longer want to fight in a war? Turning your back on your homeland is not an easy decision and can have severe consequences. Click on to read the real-life stories of Russian soldiers who do not want to fight in Ukraine.

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Since the start of the war the media has had the opportunity on a few occasions to speak to Russian soldiers who decided they did not want to fight, one of them anonymously told Reuters: "This is not our war."

One of the problems is that, according to the soldier with whom Reuters was able to speak, the Russian army does not even keep its promises.

“(Back in Russia) we were lined up and told that everyone would get a daily allowance, extras for fighting and medals,” the soldier told Reuters. But he added that they did not get the extras they expected: “We decided to quit. There were 14 of us.”

The testimonies of soldiers who did not know where they were sent are plentiful. Early in the fighting, Ukraine released videos of captured Russian soldiers being allowed to talk to their mothers on the phone and admitting they were shooting at civilian targets. Incidentally, these recordings are contrary to the Geneva Convention: prisoners may not be exhibited or used in any way (even as propaganda).

Another video shared by Ukraine that went viral showed soldiers stating that they were returning home feeling "cheated" because they had been told that they were only going to carry out military maneuvers.

In early 2022, CNN obtained the testimony of an officer (whose name was not revealed) who was sent to Crimea and, by surprise, found himself penetrating Ukrainian territory. He and his fellow battalion men were tricked into a war they believed would never break out.

In the case of the military man who offered his testimony to CNN, he claimed that they were not told they would be assisting with the "denazification" of Ukraine.

Instead, they were sent there without much idea of why. The soldier told CNN, "We were not hammered with some kind of 'Ukrainian Nazis' rhetoric. Many did not understand what this was all for and what we are doing here."

The soldier told the news outlet how he felt the need to hide his face in shame as he was embarrassed to be invading Ukrainian land.

As the Russians fell under heavier attack from the Ukrainians, the soldier said, "For the first week or so, I was in a state of aftershock. I didn't think about anything."

The man who spoke to CNN recounted how, after seeing the rejection that the Russian presence caused among the people of Ukraine, he decided to leave.

Russian soldiers could legally resign during the first five months of the war. However, as of September 2022, Putin declared a partial mobilization decree, which meant all Russians fighting in Ukraine were no longer allowed to leave the military.

Prior to September 2022, military professionals could legally resign and the officer who CNN spoke to did just that. The military warned him that a criminal case could be opened against him but he went ahead.

However, the stories of these soldiers that were able to "easily" leave are no longer a possibility for those who want out. Now they MUST illegally desert their posts.

According to Politico, the only legal way to get out of fighting in Ukraine now is death, medical discharge, imprisonment or reaching mandatory retirement age.

According to various news outlets Ukrainian authorities claim that Russian soldiers are deserting on a daily basis. However, due to war propaganda it is hard to say how much of this information is accurate.

Interestingly, The Moscow Times published an article in December 2023 admitting that "Russian soldiers’ requests for help deserting their units in Ukraine have almost doubled in recent months."

According to The Moscow Times, a group called 'Idite Lesom' or the “Get Lost” group that assists Russians who do not want to fight in the Ukraine war received 577 requests for help from September to November 2023 which is an 89% increase compared to the data from June to August 2023.

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