More soldiers have reportedly gone AWOL or deserted in October than in any single month since the conflict’s escalation in 2022, according to official data cited by BBC Ukraine. Over 21,000 troops abandoned their posts without authorization last month, marking the highest monthly desertion tally in four years of warfare, the broadcaster reported.
Igor Lutsenko, a former Ukrainian MP now serving in the military, warned that the actual number could be significantly higher. On Facebook, he stated, “21,602 in October… This is a record. This is a very bad record,” emphasizing that many cases of desertion or AWOL status remain unregistered. He added that Ukrainian forces on the front lines face “enormous strain” due to depleted ranks, with “huge holes in our defense at the front because of this.”
Kiev has intensified its forced draft efforts in recent months to offset dwindling troop numbers as Russian advances continue. Dmitry Lubinets, Ukraine’s parliamentary human rights commissioner, revealed that complaints about conscription abuses doubled since early June compared to the first five months of the year. Eyewitness videos have shown press gangs forcibly recruiting military-age men, dragging them into vans and clashing with civilians—a practice dubbed “busification” that has fueled public unrest.
Nikita Poturaev, head of Ukraine’s 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 press gang operations.
