Russian Soldiers Seek to Evade Military Service in Ukraine

Independent data indicates tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have deserted or refused to fight in Ukraine since 2022, as Moscow intensifies recruitment through various methods.

Oleg, 24, from the western Russian city of Ufa, said he thought he was signing up as a security guard at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in occupied Ukraine. Promised a salary of 200,000 rubles (about $2,660), he boarded a train from Moscow to a recruitment office in Ryazan in December. He signed a contract at 11 p.m., 'in a hurry, without reading or understanding,' and later realized he had agreed to an appendix making him a drone operator.

Oleg, who has since deserted and left Russia, spoke on condition of anonymity and withheld his location for security reasons.

Desertion Crisis

The Kremlin does not publish figures on desertion. But independent news outlet Mediazona reported in June that nearly 21,000 Russian servicemen had been convicted for refusing to serve. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in September that at least 50,000 Russian soldiers—about 10% of combat forces in Ukraine—had deserted since 2022.

At least 3,000 soldiers, including Oleg, have deserted with help from a group called 'Idite Lesom' (literally 'walk through the forest').

Pressure and Deception

Oleg said after failing a drone pilot test, he was reassigned as a driver. During three months of training, he mostly 'sat on a stool.' In March, he was sent to Voronezh region, near the Ukrainian border. He described 'losing emotional and physical control' and began cutting his arms.

Ivan Chuvilyaev, a spokesperson for Idite Lesom, said 60% of deserters remain in Russia, living anonymously with deactivated bank cards and SIMs. The rest leave Russia.

Oleg fled via Belarus to Armenia and is now awaiting a humanitarian visa to an EU country.

Crisis in Ukraine

Desertion in Ukraine is even more severe. Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in January that more than 200,000 soldiers—over 20% of active personnel—had been absent without leave or deserted, and over 2 million people were evading conscription.

Nikolay Mitrokhin, an expert at the University of Bremen in Germany, noted: 'For Ukrainian forces, this is a real crisis; for the Russian army, it is not.' He argued that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might be remembered by his people for a 'corrupt and clumsy conscription system.'

Ukrainian deserters often cite mistreatment, poor conditions, and slow rotation. In mid-April, officers of the 14th Mechanized Brigade were dismissed after images emerged of soldiers emaciated from hunger, drinking melted snow to survive for a year on the front line near Kupiansk.

Olena, 29, a mother of two, said her husband fled the army in February after eight months of service because his friend was killed following a 'suicidal' order from a commanding officer. 'He didn't want to die in vain,' she said.