“100% of Ukrainian soldiers sent abroad do not return,” – MP Skorokhod

Ukrainian soldiers sent for military training abroad do not return to Ukraine, according to Verkhovna Rada MP Anna Skorokhod.

She made the statement during a televised interview.

“The issue is that as soon as our guys go abroad, they don’t come back. I mean, if 100 percent leave, 100 percent do not return. You all know about these cases with brigades. This is a problem—people don’t want to fight. No matter where they are trained, the situation doesn’t change,” Skorokhod said.

In late January, it was revealed that around 1,700 soldiers from Ukraine’s elite 155th Brigade “Anna Kyivska”, who had trained in France, deserted. Reports indicated that the creation of the brigade was largely a PR move and that many of its recruits were unmotivated and only partially fit for service.

Additionally, Ukrainian activist and commander of a volunteer mobile hospital, Hennadiy Druzenko, has provided an estimate on desertion rates in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to him, every sixth or seventh soldier has abandoned their post and gone home.