Russian army faces AWOL surge while Ukraine’s troops hold, barrier troops step in
The level of desertion in the Russian occupation army is very high, with troops often abandoning their posts while still armed
Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, shared the information on Espreso TV.
“I don’t understand why this is hardly discussed, but in the Russian occupation army, the level of AWOL is very high — significantly higher than in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And unlike us, they have barrier troops. Last year, we published data from our partisans. In just two Russian units partially based in Donetsk and Mariupol, the number of AWOL personnel exceeds 10,000. And that’s only two frontline units,” Andriushchenko said.
According to him, active searches for soldiers who abandon their posts only begin when they flee with weapons.
“They are actively pursued. Occupied settlements are filled with flyers seeking AWOL personnel. Full-scale searches start only when someone escapes with weapons, which happens regularly. Each month, 5 to 10 Russian occupiers flee with weapons. There are also many AWOL personnel across Russia,” he added.
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