1,700 West-trained Ukrainian soldiers flee before reaching frontlines: Report

Nearly a third of all soldiers of a high-profile Ukrainian brigade have fled over the past one year, according to a report.

As Russia continued to make gains in the war on Ukraine throughout 2024, pushing Ukraine on the backfoot, Ukraine suffered with a serious problem: desertion.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine nears the three-year mark, Ukrainian soldiers are exhausted. Some units have been fighting for more than two years straight and, in the absence of soldiers who could replace them, they are not being rotated. This is not just creating personnel issues or driving desertion but also having implications on the battlefield — as seen in Vuhledar that Russia captured late last year.

Amid such a situation, The Daily Telegraph has reported that as many 1,700 of 5,800 soldiers of Ukraine’s 155th mechanised brigade fled.

As per the latest update, 500 are still at large while the rest have retired after various periods of being absent without leave (AWOL), according to The Telegraph.

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The 155th mechanised brigade was trained by France in western Ukraine, France, and Poland, and was equipped with German Leopard tanks and French Caesar 155 mm howitzers. It was one of the 14 new brigades that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped to create with Western assistance to fight Russia. These battalions as well as the idea behind the creation of these battalions appears to be doing poorly for Ukraine.

Mass-desertion before 1st shot fired

While the brigade was in France for training, at least 50 Ukrainian recruits disappeared, according to The Telegraph.

That was just the beginning.

By the time the 155th brigade was deployed to Pokrovsk, the strategic logistical and industrial hub where Russian war efforts are currently focussed, at least 1,700 soldiers had fled, according to the newspaper

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This meant that nearly a third of battalion had fled the military without firing a single shot.

Once it entered battle, the brigade suffered heavy losses, including tanks and armoured vehicles.

Observers have questioned the Zelenskyy-led government’s decision to create new brigades instead of rotating existing units.

“This is indeed a crime, but the crime of not soldiers and officers – but the crime of the leaders of the supreme commander-in-chief, the Ministry of Defence and the general staff, who continue to waste their lives and public funds on new projects, instead of strengthening experienced and combat-capable brigades,” the newspaper quoted Yuriy Butusov, a Ukrainian war correspondent, as saying.

The newspaper reported that the unit was mishandled from the beginning. It said that as many as 2,500 recruits of the brigades were transferred to other units. Moreover, it said that of 1,924 volunteers sent to France for training, only 51 had military experience of more than a year.

The training and arming of the brigade are part of $420 million European Union Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM). Around 63,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained under the mission so far.

As of now, the 155th brigade has essentially been disbanded and its weapons and personnel have been distributed amongst battle-hardened units in and around Pokrovsk.

Desertion systemic problem in Ukraine’s military

The desertion seen in the 155th brigade was not a singular case but representative of a systemic problem in the Ukrainian military.

As the war nears the three-year mark, the Ukrainian military is stretched thin across various theatres and several units are fighting for long stretches without any break or rotations. Losses in the battlefield, mental and physical fatigue, conflict with seniors, and personal problems have led to several thousand desertions.

The Ukrainian military has reported nearly 96,000 cases of desertion since the beginning of the war, according to Bloomberg.

Of them, Oleksandr Hrynchuk of Ukraine’s military law enforcement service said up to 40-60 per cent never return whereas others return to service after being absent without leave for some time.

The problem is so grave that Zelenskyy last month offered amnesty for deserters returning to services.