“An impressive figure”: MP Bezuhla calculated the number of Ukrainian soldiers who went AWOL

Almost 250,000 Ukrainian servicemen have deserted from their units.

This follows from the statement of Verkhovna Rada deputy Maryana Bezuhla.

“Right now, we have as many deserters as there were troops in the army before the start of the full-scale invasion… It’s an impressive number. If the situation continues to develop this way, we will soon have the number of deserters equal to half of our army,” Bezuhla said.

It should be recalled that the number of personnel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine before the start of the full-scale war was 246,000.

The MP considers the reasons for the mass desertions to be the “strange orders” issued by the command, as well as the practice where “you are nothing — go to the field.” Another reason, she said, lies in the unreformed military training centers.

In turn, former MP and commander of a drone company Ihor Lutsenko stated that in September alone, 20,000 cases of desertion were officially recorded. Since the beginning of the year, about 160,000 cases have been registered. However, according to Lutsenko, the real situation is much worse.

He explained that the numbers refer not to the actual number of those who deserted, but to the number of criminal cases opened.

The day before, Bezuhla criticized Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi’s statement about a counteroffensive operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donetsk region.

“First, they allowed a breakthrough and lied that there was no breakthrough; then they lied that there was only ‘infiltration’; then the lie suddenly ‘jumped’ into a full-scale counteroffensive on our side, with the encirclement of 100,500 Russians <…>. Shall I remind you how lying ended in 2023?” Bezuhla commented on Syrskyi’s words.