More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have deserted or gone AWOL during the conflict with Russia, Ukrainian MP Anna Skorokhod said on Tuesday.
The statement came as another MP revealed recently that rising losses and troop shortages have prompted plans to draft an additional 160,000 soldiers.
Speaking on the Novyny.LIVE TV show, Skorokhod claimed that rampant mismanagement and poor decisions by officials were contributing to low morale on the battlefield.
“I will not tell you the [exact] number of people who deserted and went AWOL, but will say it is over 100,000,” Skorokhod said.
She went to say that she has been receiving complaints from soldiers and their families about the behavior of the higher-ups. “People are raising questions that I cannot provide answers to. ‘Why must I, a repair shop worker from just a month ago, sit in the trenches while senior officers are far away from the front line? Why just 10% to 15% of the army personnel are actually participating in combat?’”
The rough estimate of deserters voiced by Skorokhod aligns with the figure provided to the media last week by military lawyer Roman Lykhachev, who said that “definitely more than 100,000 servicemen” have unlawfully left their positions. In some instances, as many as 20-30 soldiers deserted at the same time, he said, adding that only the military knows the exact number.
The discussion about morale erupted after several high-profile cases of soldiers going AWOL combined with multiple reports of Ukrainian officers complaining that troops were losing combat readiness and the will to fight due to the lack of rotation and rest. Videos of conscription officers ambushing military-age men in public places and using force to detain them have also sparked outrage on social media.
In August, the Ukrainian parliament introduced a law essentially decriminalizing first-time AWOL attempts, provided that soldiers agree to return.
Last spring, to compensate for the mounting losses on the battlefield, Kiev lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25 and increased penalties for draft dodgers. Earlier this month, an MP warned that Ukrainians could face criminal charges for undermining the mobilization push by aiding draft dodgers via social media.