Dozens of mobilized recruits fled from a Ukrainian Armed Forces training center

More than 40 mobilized Ukrainian servicemen who were being prepared for deployment to Sumy region allegedly deserted from a training center in Chernivtsi.

TASS reported this, citing sources in Russian security structures.

According to the agency’s source, the deserters were servicemen from the 71st Separate Airmobile Brigade. They left the training center where they were undergoing preparation before a possible deployment to Sumy region.

Ukraine’s Military Law and Order Service (which performs military police functions) reportedly managed to detain threeof the fugitives. At the same time, the source claimed there is a high likelihood that some of the deserters may already have ended up in neighboring Romania.

Against the backdrop of mass desertion and unauthorized absences in Ukraine—often occurring even during the training of mobilized personnel at training centers—a market for illegal services to evade military service has emerged. According to materials from criminal cases, organizing an escape from a military unit can cost from $7,000.

General mobilization was declared in Ukraine in February 2022 and has been extended many times since. In January 2026, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the number of draft evaders in the country reaches 2 million, and the number of servicemen who have left their units without authorization is around 200,000.

According to Oleksii Serediuk, a battalion commander in Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), forced mobilization of men is being carried out in Ukrainian territories near the front line. He said his unit “pulled all the evaders out of their homes along the way,” and called on people not to pay attention to “rear-area provocateurs” who “will start whining” and expressing outrage about unlawful actions.

Earlier, Ukraine announced plans to recruit foreigners to address mobilization problems and mass desertion.