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Estimated Russian Desertion Statistics
A comparison of reported Russian military desertion and refusal statistics.
Primary Sources
Ukrainian Soldier Survives Months Behind Russian Lines Using His Wife ...
The modern battlefield is often defined by the roar of heavy artillery and the relentless buzz of surveillance drones, but for one Ukrainian serviceman, the most powerful weapon in his arsenal was the sound of a familiar voice. After becoming separated from his unit during a chaotic skirmish in the contested eastern territories, the soldier found himself trapped in a lethal gray zone for nearly six months. His survival story stands as a testament to human endurance and the psychological power of domestic ties in the face of absolute isolation.For 177 days, the soldier occupied a narrow, subterranean existence. Surrounded by Russian forces and unable to move during daylight hours without being spotted by thermal optics, he retreated into the ruins of decimated structures. Food was scarce, and water was often filtered from stagnant sources, but the primary threat was the slow erosion of the mind. In the silence of the kill zone, the boundary between reality and despair often blurs, leading many to succumb to the exhaustion of hiding.Communication was his only bridge to the world he left behind. Using a mobile phone with a dwindling battery and intermittent signal, he maintained contact with his wife. These were not tactical briefings or desperate pleas for rescue, but rather mundane conversations about home, family, and the future. By focusing on the trivial details of civilian life, his wife managed to provide him with a mental anchor that prevented the psychological breakdown often associated with long-term isolation in high-stress environments.Military psychologists who have studied the case suggest that this consistent vocal connection served a dual purpose. It provided a rhythmic sense of time in a place where days and nights bled together, and it reinforced his identity as a husband and father rather than just a target in a wasteland. This psychological grounding is often the deciding factor in survival scenarios where physical resources are depleted. While his body grew thin and his health deteriorated, his resolve remained intact through the simple act of listening to a voice that promised a life beyond the trenches.The logistics of his eventual extraction were as perilous as his time in hiding. Ukrainian special forces had to coordinate a high-stakes recovery mission that involved navigating minefields and avoiding the very patrols that had kept him pinned down for half a year. When he finally crossed back into friendly territory, the physical toll ...
How to escape Russia's army: Soldiers serving in Ukraine seek a way out ...
Warning: This story contains references to suicide and self harm, which some may find distressing.Oleg, a 24-year-old who grew up in the western Russian city of Ufa, thought he was signing up to work as a security guard at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the occupied part of southeastern Ukraine.To secure the job, with a salary of 200,000 rubles ($2,660), he took a train in December from Moscow to a conscription office in the city of Ryazan, 200 kilometres (125 miles) southeast.He knew the job was being arranged through the army, but did not imagine having to serve on the frontlines.He arrived at the office on a gloomy evening, sleepy and with a splitting headache.And he then signed away his civilian life “in a hurry, without reading, without comprehending, and that was it”, he told Al Jazeera.The officer who handed him the contract at 11pm had asked Oleg to sign an “appendix” that turned out to be an agreement to become a drone pilot, he said.Oleg withheld his last name and current location for security reasons, as he has since deserted the army and fled Russia.The Kremlin does not release data on the number of soldiers who have deserted or gone absent without official leave.Last June, the independent Mediazona publication claimed that almost 21,000 Russian servicemen were convicted for refusing to serve, adding that even more deserters were taken back to their military units without being prosecuted.The United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights said in September that at least 50,000 Russian soldiers, or about one in 10 servicemen fighting in Ukraine, had deserted since 2022.At least 3,000, including Oleg, did so with the help of a group aptly named “Idite Lesom”. The phrase means “go through the forest,” but is used idiomatically for “get lost!”‘I lost myself’Oleg travelled by bus to a military unit in the western town of Kovrov, where, he said, a drill sergeant bellowed to him and other future soldiers, mostly men below 35: “You’re nobody now, you belong to the army”.Each of them had signed up because of the salary.“Patriotism ends with money,” Oleg quipped.No drill sergeant listened to his complaints about the allegedly forced enlistment, even though Oleg had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was therefore barred from handling weapons.“I was told, ‘To hell with you, no one will find out [about the diagnosis] stop squealing’.”He claimed he was beaten up by officers.After failing a drone pilot’s test, he was told he would become a dr...
Ukrainian Military Offers Lessons Learned to NATO (Part Three)
Russia's war against Ukraine has shown how drones are reshaping warfare. Drone-saturated battlefields complicate medical evacuation and care, forcing the ...
Surviving for months in a trench: Lack of reinforcements pushes ...
The Ombudsperson role was created in 2025 to safeguard the rights of Ukraine's more than 800,000 service members. The maximum time a Ukrainian soldier may remain in a frontline position without rest was extended on Thursday to two months — up from the previous limit of two weeks.
