“They’re being sent as cannon fodder”: soldiers from a repair battalion in Lviv wanted to desert en masse

Soldiers from a repair battalion in Lviv announced their intention to go AWOL after an attempt to transfer them to an assault unit.

This decision was made after an order to reassign them, according to soldier Volodymyr Romanov, who spoke to Zaxid.Net.

He said the matter concerns fighters from the 219th repair battalion of the 125th brigade, who had set up their own workshop for drone repairs, including purchasing 3D printers and microscopes.

According to Romanov, the order affected more than 20 soldiers from the battalion, many of whom are men over the age of 50. His own son, who also serves in the unit, was among those listed.

“Now a combat order has come — my son is being sent to the 218th battalion. To the slaughter, into rifle companies to retake positions they had lost,” Romanov said.

“All 24 people affected by this order decided to go AWOL. The biggest absurdity is that this is now a drone war, and specialists are needed. My son, who is a specialist, is being thrown into a trench. Men over 50, who by age are not storm troopers, are also being thrown into trenches,” he added.

Romanov called on commanders not to send repairmen into assault operations.

On September 21, after media coverage of the story, the order to transfer the repair specialists to the 218th battalion was canceled.

Earlier, Ukraine’s military command had repeatedly reassigned soldiers from other service branches to assault units.