Ukraine wants to reinstate deserters due to serious shortage of troops

(CLO) In the context of a serious shortage of forces, some Ukrainian military units have begun giving second chances to soldiers who have deserted.

According to data from the prosecutor's office, nearly 95,000 criminal cases have been opened since 2022 against soldiers "absent without leave" (AWOL) and the more serious crime of desertion during combat.

The number of these incidents has increased sharply each year throughout the war, with nearly two-thirds of the total occurring in 2024. The drawdown, with tens of thousands of soldiers killed or wounded, is creating enormous pressure that Ukraine can hardly bear.

Some military units are now trying to replenish their ranks by taking in former deserters. Ukraine’s 47th Brigade, one of the elite units, posted a notice on social media last month inviting deserted soldiers to return to service.

The post emphasized the goal of giving these deserters a chance. The brigade said that in the first two days alone, more than a hundred applications were received. The head of the 47th Brigade's recruiting department, Viacheslav Smirnov, said they had received such a large number of applications that they "could not keep up."

A Ukrainian soldier with a Kalashnikov rifle in his hand. Photo: Reuters

The two military units said they only accept deserters from bases, not from the battlefield. Desertion from base is considered a lesser crime in the Ukrainian military. A newly signed bill decriminalizes first-time absences, allowing soldiers to return to service.

According to Colonel Oleksandr Hrynchuk, deputy commander of the Ukrainian military police, 6,000 deserters have returned to service in the past month, including 3,000 within 72 hours of the law being signed.

Mykhailo Perets, an officer in the K-2 battalion of the 54th Ukrainian Brigade, said his battalion had recruited more than 30 deserters from other units. Their reasons for deserting varied: some had difficulty adjusting to civilian life, while others had served long periods in airborne units but were sent to the front due to a shortage of infantry.

Gil Barndollar, a research fellow at Defense Priorities, attributes the rise in unexcused absences to exhaustion. Ukrainian soldiers have previously said that the lack of replacements for fallen comrades creates unbearable pressure, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted.

Barndollar also stressed that the Ukrainian army is mainly composed of middle-aged men, often in poor health, which makes them more susceptible to burnout and psychological problems than younger people.

Responding to the issue of human resources, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine lacks weapons, not people, and opposed the reduction of the military age from 25 to 18 as requested by the US.

In an interview with Sky News, Mr Zelenskyy said Kiev's allies had only been able to supply equipment for a quarter of the 10 new brigades Ukraine had created over the past year.

Hoai Phuong (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ukraine-muon-dung-lai-linh-dao-ngu-do-thieu-quan-nghiem-trong-post324139.html