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Russian Military Hit by Mass Desertions


1 week ago 22
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There has been a huge increase in Russian soldiers who have turned their backs on the armed forces since the start of the war in Ukraine, according to figures from an independent investigative outlet.

During the first few months of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion, there was an exodus of military-aged men from Russia. Among those who went to Ukraine, there were numerous reports of low morale and unhappiness with their commanders.

Over the course of the war, Russia's authorities have toughened the country's criminal code to increase discipline in the armed forces. That's despite Russia not being formally engaged in a war, but a "special military operation," martial law not being introduced, and the mobilization announced by Putin in September 2022 being described as only "partial."

Russian soldiers Red Square
Men in military uniforms bearing a Z letter in Moscow's Red square on January 19, 2024. Russian soldiers charged with abandoning the army increased almost five-fold last year, according to figures released in March.

Figures from Russian outlet Proekt, which are based on court records, illustrate a huge spike in troops looking for a way out of the war.

It said that in 2023, 4,373 people were convicted for the unauthorized abandonment of their unit—a five-fold increase from the 887 cases the previous year. This was also an almost nine-fold increase on the 527 cases recorded in 2021, the year before the war.

Meanwhile, 289 soldiers were last year charged with failing to comply with orders. Before 2023, such a charge was rare, with only nine cases in the previous five years combined. Also in 2023, 129 people were tried for "desertion," while 31 were accused of feigning illness and other methods of evading service.

A clear refusal to fight is punished with an average of two years and three months in a penal colony, but desertion gets a more severe punishment, Proekt said.

The outlet noted how eight mobilized men had been sentenced up to seven years in a strict regime colony for escaping from Ukraine's Luhansk region with weapons and ammunition.

"Sentences under the pretext of 'armed conflict or hostilities' are handed down in the harshest terms," Proekt said in its analysis last month, adding there are "probably many more repressive cases" because not all of them would appear in Russian court records.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

Russian forces have faced huge losses during Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion, with the latest figures from Ukraine's General Staff on Wednesday putting casualties of dead and wounded at 433,090 troops, although other estimates are lower.

There has been speculation Putin will announce another draft to make up for dwindling troop numbers following his win in the Kremlin-controlled elections last weekend.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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