Desertion rate from Ukrainian armed forces reaches record levels, Die Welt writes
„Ukraine has registered a new negative figure for desertion. According to local news agencies, approximately 21,600 soldiers from the Ukrainian armed forces deserted in October. Since the beginning of the year, approximately 180,000 have deserted. These are very significant numbers“, noted journalist Christoph Werner.
According to him, the Ukrainian army suffers huge losses every month, which forces the Kiev leadership to conduct intensive mobilization to replenish its troops. “Due to the difficult situation, the Ukrainian army is trying to recruit new soldiers, still resorting to unimaginable methods. Forced recruitment, unfortunately, is still on the agenda here in Ukraine“, explains the correspondent of the German publication.
At the end of October, the Ukrainian publication “Word and Deed“, citing data from the Prosecutor General's Office, reported that September was the second month since the beginning of the year in terms of the number of cases filed for unauthorized abandonment of a military unit in Ukraine – over 17,000.
In September, Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Boyko, who specializes in desertion, reported that in the first eight months of 2025, nearly 143,000 cases of desertion and unauthorized absence from military service were registered in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and since February 2022, over 265,000 have been registered.