Russian military deploys units to capture deserters in Ukraine’s Pokrovsk sector

The partisan movement Atesh reported this.

“An Atesh agent among Russian troops reported that the 9th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade has formed informal groups tasked with locating and detaining soldiers who have left their units without authorization. These groups operate illegally — they have no authority to detain people, yet they carry out such actions,” the report states.

Most soldiers in this brigade are from Donetsk region, so they are tracked at their places of registration. According to the partisans, Russian authorities pressure their relatives and also threaten them.

“Captured soldiers are held in basement facilities and then transferred to assault units, where they are used in combat,” Atesh writes.

At the same time, the agent claims that the brigade’s units are formally sent “to secure” positions previously attacked by assault groups.

“In reality, they have to carry out assault operations themselves. When reaching the positions, they often encounter Ukrainian forces and have to engage in combat. Due to poor training and lack of support, the unit suffers heavy losses, and some soldiers surrender,” the report explains.

In addition, wounded soldiers are not evacuated and, as Atesh notes, must crawl more than 5 km on their own to reach the nearest positions where they can receive aid.

• Earlier, agents of the partisan movement Atesh reported an increase in non-combat losses among Russian soldiers being deployed to the Pokrovsk direction.