About 5-10% of Ukrainian military personnel are absent from duty without leave – The Economist

Around 5-10% of Ukrainian military personnel are absent from service without leave.

This information reported according to “The Economist”.

The publication writes that Ukrainians are avoiding service because “mobilization seems like a one-way ticket to the morgue.”

“Officers complain that many of those called up for service are poorly suited for combat: too old, too sick, or too drunk. There is no clear path out of the army once one is in, making mobilization seem like a one-way ticket to the morgue. About 5-10% of soldiers on active duty are absent without leave. Authorities are pursuing many deserters, but they don’t inspire as much fear as Putin’s regime,” *The Economist* reports.

A survey is cited in which less than a third of Ukrainians consider draft evasion to be shameful.

Therefore, the publication concludes that although Russian losses are significantly higher, it’s increasingly difficult for Ukraine to replace its soldiers. This is especially challenging since Russia initially has more soldiers at the front—540,000 compared to Ukraine’s 450,000. The Kursk operation has only worsened the situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stretching the front lines.

Deputy Chief of General Staff Volodymyr Horbatyuk claims that the losses are at a ratio of 6 to 1. An American official states that since the beginning of the war, 100,000 Russians have been killed, and 430,000 have been wounded.

Earlier, military lawyer Roman Likhachev from the Center for Assistance to Veterans and Their Families stated that over 100,000 Ukrainian military personnel have gone AWOL since the start of the war.