On the front line, every day is a struggle not only with the enemy, but also with oneself. War is physically exhausting, but even more so mentally. Many imagine defenders as indomitable heroes, capable of withstanding any ordeal. But the reality is much more complicated. Fear, constant stress, shaken nerves – all this is not always visible from the outside, but it is a burden that presses on soldiers every day. For some of them, it becomes unbearable. They do not run away from the battlefield because of weakness – they reach the limits of human strength when physical and emotional reserves are exhausted. But what pushes them to arbitrarily leave their positions? And why even the strongest sometimes cannot withstand this war?
The scale of the problem of voluntary desertion of military units
The problem of voluntary desertion of military units (SZH) is gaining serious proportions in Ukraine. This is evidenced by the statistics of the Office of the Prosecutor General, according to which only in the first half of 2024, 29,800 criminal cases were recorded on the escape of servicemen from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
- 18.6 thousand under the article on voluntary abandonment of a military unit;
- 11.2 thousand under the article “Desertion”.
These numbers have already exceeded last year’s figures, but, according to the military and lawyers, the real number of escapes is four times higher than official data.
Types of deserters and reasons that lead to this phenomenon
Desertion is one of the most serious crimes in military law, and its consequences can be catastrophic both for a separate unit and for the defense capability of the state as a whole.
Deserters are of the following types:
Those who flee during hostilities. This is the most obvious type of deserters — servicemen who leave their positions or combat post during active hostilities. The main reason for this type of desertion is fear for one’s own life, mental stress or panic. Abandoning combat positions endangers not only the deserter, but also his comrades, as it can lead to lost operations and greater casualties.
Those who refuse to follow orders. This is a category of military personnel who do not physically leave combat positions, but categorically refuse to follow the orders of the command. This may include orders to attack, move to other positions, or engage in combat. The reasons for refusals can be different: from disagreement with the tactical strategy of the command to moral or political beliefs.
Deserters who leave the military unit during training or being in the rear. This category of deserters is not necessarily involved in active combat operations, but leaves their positions during exercises, training or being in the rear. This may be the result of mental pressure, a desire to avoid service for personal reasons, or fear of a possible future deployment to the front.
Those who leave the country or are in hiding. This type of deserters are servicemen who leave the country or hide from service, in particular during mobilization. They can flee to other countries in order to avoid conscription or being sent to the front. Often, such cases can occur with the use of false documents or abuse of legal loopholes for delays.
It is worth noting that in the case of SZCH, a serviceman leaves the unit without the permission of the commanding leadership for a certain time. In the case of desertion, a soldier leaves the ranks of the Armed Forces permanently in order to evade service and never returns.
The following should be considered as the reasons for SZH and desertion:
- Psychological factors. One of the most important reasons for desertion is psychological pressure. Constant fear of death, injuries, the death of fellow soldiers, deterioration of mental health due to constant participation in hostilities – all this can push soldiers to desertion. The need for psychological help for the military becomes especially important in such conditions.
- Moral exhaustion. Prolonged military conflicts, constant losses and lack of quick results can lead to moral exhaustion of the military. Some military personnel may lose faith in victory, feel that their efforts are futile, and as a result seek ways to escape.
- Disagreement with command or government policy. Political disagreement or a sense of injustice in war can become an extremely serious motive for desertion. The military may feel that they are being used as a tool to achieve political goals with which they disagree. This is especially true in situations where there is an impression that the state leadership does not pay due attention to the life and health of its soldiers.
- Problems in the family. Personal problems can also play a significant role in motivating desertion. For example, military personnel who have left their family unsupported or at risk of enemy attack may be inclined to flee to protect their loved ones. Uncertainty in the state of relatives, problems with communication or a sense of responsibility for the family can become a motive for returning home by any means. In addition, commanders are often unable or unwilling to grant leave to military personnel for valid reasons, such as a parent’s funeral. And this becomes the basis for their voluntary abandonment of the military unit.
- Deficiencies in military logistics and supply. Poor service conditions, lack of necessary supplies, inadequate medical care or food can all demotivate servicemen. The lack of basic resources can create the impression that the state does not value its military, which increases the feeling of hopelessness and leads to desertion.
Uninvented stories of arbitrarily leaving parts to fighters
In society, it is customary to quickly draw conclusions and condemn those who deviate from the generally accepted norm. But as life shows, the causes of SCD are different.
Viktor, a 34-year-old serviceman with the call sign “Monk”, says that he joined the ranks of the Armed Forces voluntarily. But he did not undergo proper military training and was injured while jumping into the trench incorrectly. Later, due to the tension of the hostilities, the fighter began to have psychological problems. In addition, he was very worried about his mother, who was sick with cancer. In the end, he wrote a vacation report. During the vacation, he underwent an examination and was referred by doctors for surgery due to hernias in the lumbar region. Unable to reach the officer, the man contacted the foreman to inform him of the reason for his absence. He confirmed his story with certificates from the hospital.
“The senior officer answered me rudely: “Why are you throwing these rags at me?” And later I was sent a letter from which I learned that I had been assigned the status of a fighter who had carried out SZH“, Viktor recalls.
The criminal case against Monk was closed due to the lack of a crime. And the soldier himself was eventually declared unfit for military service. But the man never received monetary payments and is still fighting for his rights with the help of a lawyer.
The second story with a tragic ending is about a 53-year-old military man named Vasyl. The fighter served in Bakhmut, but after some time contact with him was lost. In the unit where Vasyl was serving, he was immediately recognized as a soldier who committed suicide, and his family was informed about it. But later, thanks to volunteers, it became known that the man died of serious injuries in the hospital.
How quickly the military leadership without trial and investigation puts a brand on our military. The reason is probably simple. In order not to pay what a person earned at the cost of his health, and in the above-mentioned case, even at the cost of his own life, it is easier to recognize a military man as having voluntarily fled.
In Volyn, a serviceman who had not been on duty for two years was sentenced for voluntarily leaving the military unit, as it turned out, because of a conflict with a fellow serviceman.
Sometimes the reason for running away is love. A female military officer wanted to serve in the same unit with her husband and reported her desire to the command in as many as 16 reports. But strict bosses did not pay attention to women’s whims. In the end, without waiting for justice, the fighter went to look for her husband. Two weeks later, she came to her senses and returned to her unit, but it was already too late – she was put on the list of the SZZ. Having studied all the circumstances of the case, the court imposed a punishment in the form of a service restriction for military personnel for a period of two years with a deduction of ten percent of the state income from the amount of financial support.
Not everything is straightforward with deserters.
“The first night spent in the trenches was the scariest. We had 27 killed and 57 wounded, – remembers George, flipping through photos of his former co-workers on his phone. – All these people are dead, except for me and this girl”
It took Giorgi several weeks and thousands of euros, paid by networks of so-called guides, to cross all of Ukraine from the war zone in the East to the western border to reach Romania. From now on, George is a deserter.
The constant fear for one’s life and the lives of one’s brothers and sisters does not go away without a trace. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an invisible enemy that attacks even after the explosions have died down. After returning from the front, many soldiers cannot sleep, they are haunted by horrors and memories of fallen comrades. But the worst thing is that this disorder often appears already during active hostilities.
Fighters who have survived difficult battles or witnessed the death of close comrades often lose the ability to act rationally. They find themselves on the border between reality and their fears, which gives rise to panic and despair. Some simply cannot stand this internal war and decide to leave their positions, saving themselves from their own fears.
There are cases when whole battalions flee from the front line. And then such cases are immediately handled by the prosecutor’s office. Entire flanks at the front are exposed to the enemy. Conscripts fleeing the battlefield do not consider themselves guilty. They complain about incompetent command, poor weapons and a complete lack of equipment. However, all these problems are hushed up, people are found guilty and receive the label of traitors from society.
Despite the catastrophic shortage of servicemen, unit commanders ask the military commissars not to send recruits who do not want or are afraid to fight to them. In battle, they will bring little benefit, and will only be a burden.
Whip or gingerbread
In order to solve the problem of the accumulation of cases due to the voluntary abandonment of military units, on August 20, the deputies adopted draft law No. 11322, according to which the possibility of returning to service is provided for military personnel in case of the consent of the commander of the relevant unit and if the soldier voluntarily left the unit for the first time or committed desertion.
And indeed, many cases are closed if the serviceman returns to the place of duty. However, if suspicion has already been received, the investigators will carefully monitor such “uncharitable” fighters. Resuming the position is another challenge. Because of the heavy bureaucracy, servicemen who have returned after desertion must hire a lawyer.
“The prosecutor wants to consider this case as soon as possible, because there are a lot of cases related to the SZH… That is why the prosecutor often offers to make a deal, if the circumstances allow it. And the military man is already deciding whether to agree to the measure of punishment proposed by the prosecutor“, – explain the situation in the “Repeshko and Partners” Bar Association.
Lawyers emphasize the need to finalize the current legislation regarding the article on voluntary abandonment of the part. After all, if everyone is sent to prison, there will not be enough places. At the same time, discipline must be maintained at an appropriate level. Because, as soon as everyone starts walking, as they say in the army, “in self-defense”, then who will defend the borders of the country?
But it is worth trying not to deal with the consequences, but to find out the reasons for such escapes. And they accumulated quite a lot during the war years.
“We have not seen a single fighter who would say, ‘I just want to see my wife’ or ‘I miss my children.’ Each of them has its own deviations in terms of health. Now there are those who have been serving for more than two years, some – since 2014. Their psyche simply cannot stand it. Therefore, it is impossible to put under one comb those who have served for a month and committed the act of SZCH, and those who have been serving for years. I think that here it is necessary to make some kind of scale, according to which to determine, to what responsibility, whom should be brought, – say the lawyers.
According to military psychologists, many soldiers experience burnout, when the ability to make decisions and act effectively during combat is drastically reduced. This is a state where the body still follows orders, but the inner strength and determination disappear. This is not weakness, it is the result of continuous struggle with danger and stress. At a certain point, the psychological burden becomes so heavy that the only way out seems to be escape – voluntarily leaving the military unit.
Military units are a different world with their own laws and restrictions. Loss of contact with ordinary life gradually erodes morale. Many feel detached from reality, forgotten. Every day becomes monotonous, and even friendship with siblings cannot reduce the feeling of loneliness. This isolation is reinforced by physical conditions: being in trenches, constant dirt, cold or hot conditions, lack of basic comfort. All this drives the fighters to despair, when it seems that the only way to save themselves is to escape.
“If now all the soldiers who are accused of war crimes are put in prison, it will lead to even worse consequences – loss of motivation and a sense of injustice. In addition, they will still need to be kept and fed all this time, and they will not protect the state. Who benefits from this? The state will definitely not win”, – lawyer Viktor Bondarenko emphasizes the importance of measured steps in legislation.
“It is necessary to fight with the cause, not with the consequences. The main reason is the lack of a moral and psychological component in the system of training soldiers, sergeants, officers… All that exists today is profanation”, – says the commander of the second assault battalion of the 3rd Assault Brigade, Dmytro Kukharchuk
The lack of a law on demobilization and problems with the rotation of servicemen have a significant impact on SZH and desertion. Many of them have already been at the front for a long time without a clear prospect of returning home. This creates a sense of hopelessness and mental exhaustion, as people do not see a specific date when they will be able to return to their families and normal lives.
The lack of rotation only exacerbates this problem. Constant presence on the front line, without rest or replacement, leads to physical and moral exhaustion. People simply lose strength, both physically and emotionally, which becomes a serious catalyst for the decision to desert.
Another important factor is the feeling of injustice in society. The soldiers, who risk their lives every day, see that the majority of men live in another dimension: despite the war, they continue to enjoy life, go on vacation, organize holidays. This creates a deep divide in society, leaving the military to feel left to fend for themselves and undervalued, prompting decisions to desert or avoid further service.
War is a test that not everyone can withstand. Even the strongest fighters have their limits, and sometimes those limits are closer than you can imagine. Arbitrary abandonment of parts is not only a problem of discipline, it is a signal to the authorities and society that people have reached the edge of their capabilities. It is far from always that voluntary abandonment of a part is an act of betrayal or cowardice. Warriors who decide to take this step are often in a critical emotional state, when all moral and physical strength is exhausted. After all, even the strongest hero can break under the weight of war.
