Ukrainians who were forced to join the occupying Russian army are deserting en masse

Informal groups have been created in the Russian occupation army in the Pokrovsk direction in the Donetsk region to search for deserters. The Ukrainian partisan movement Atesh reported this on its Telegram channel. According to Atesh, informal groups for searching for deserters were created, in particular, in the 9th separate motorized rifle brigade, which mostly consists of forcibly mobilized residents of the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk Oblast. Deserters are searched for at their place of registration, and pressure is put on relatives. If a deserter is found, he is placed in a basement, and then transferred to an assault unit. According to Atesh, units of the 9th separate motorized rifle brigade of the Russian occupation forces are suffering heavy losses, and some servicemen are surrendering. This is due to poor training and lack of support. The brigade has no organized evacuation of the wounded. They are making their way to the rear on their own. Because of all this, the morale of the personnel is very low, which leads to desertion. It should be noted that the Pokrovskoe direction is currently the "hottest" section of the front. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, yesterday, September 9, Russian occupiers attacked the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 60 times in this direction. Ukrainian fighters repelled all attacks. The battles took place in the areas of the settlements of Vladimirovka, Novoye Shakhovo, Zapovednoye, Mirolyubovka, Shevchenko, Kotlino, Udachnoye and others.
Recall, Russian garrison courts have busy days as the number of Russian soldiers fleeing war is soaring. Back in 2021, such cases were rare, but since 2022 - there have been tens of thousands across the country. The Barents Observer counted the number of verdicts issued by military courts in the northern regions of Russia.
In Russian criminal law, military refusal to serve is divided into several categories. Unauthorized abandonment of a unit is when a serviceman leaves his place of service without permission, but without the clear intention to completely evade service.
Desertion is a more serious crime: a conscious and final departure with the intent not to return. Sometimes the investigation starts the case as desertion, but courts often reclassify it as unauthorized absence — especially if the serviceman returns voluntarily.
Faking illness is another way of evasion, where a serviceman tries to avoid service by pretending to have health problems. However, cases under this article are not initiated very often.
The difference between the articles is primarily in the wording and maximum terms: desertion carries up to 15 years, unauthorised absence up to 10, and faking illness also up to 10 years.