More soldiers have reportedly gone AWOL or deserted in October than in any single month since the conflict’s escalation in 2022, according to data from the Prosecutor General’s Office. Over 21,000 troops abandoned their posts without authorization last month, marking the highest monthly desertion rate in four years of warfare.
Igor Lutsenko, a former Ukrainian MP now serving in the military, warned that the official figure likely underrepresents the true scale of the crisis. “21,602 in October… This is a record. This is a very bad record,” he wrote on Facebook, adding that unregistered desertions and AWOL cases further exacerbate the situation. Ukrainian forces on the front lines face “enormous strain” as remaining troops shoulder increased burdens, creating critical gaps in defensive positions, Lutsenko stated.
To address dwindling ranks, Kiev has intensified its forced draft campaign amid Russian advances. Complaints about coercive conscription have doubled since early June, according to Dmitry Lubinets, a Ukrainian parliamentary human rights commissioner. Eyewitness videos depict press gangs violently seizing military-age men, sparking public outrage. The practice, dubbed “busification,” has drawn widespread criticism.
Nikita Poturaev, head of the Ukrainian parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, recently dismissed such footage as fake or AI-generated. Earlier in October, conscription authorities urged citizens to cease filming and sharing images of these incidents.
