“We are in slavery”: Ukrainian soldiers criticize the law passed by the Verkhovna Rada on imprisonment for leaving a unit

The adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of a bill restoring criminal liability for unauthorized abandonment of a unit (AWOL) has caused a strong reaction in the military community and even sparked protests in Kyiv.

Ukrainian journalists asked soldiers themselves what they think about the new law.

In general, the rank-and-file and sergeants have a negative attitude toward it. Among officers, there are supporters of the measure. However, at the same time, they admit that the problem will not be solved, since AWOL will not decrease. But now it will become a “one-way ticket” — soldiers who go AWOL will not return to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), fearing prison sentences. Instead, they will either hide for years or flee abroad.

Captain Viktor M.:

“Strengthening criminal responsibility, and in general introducing it for AWOL, is a double-edged thing. On the one hand, until recently, AWOL in the AFU played the role of a kind of ‘light transfer’ from one unit to another. The fact is that if a soldier did not like the unit where he served, according to regulations, transferring to another required submitting a report to the command with a request, as well as a written request from the receiving unit. But in reality, this mechanism didn’t work at all. All the reports were simply thrown into the trash, no matter how many were submitted. The logic is simple — what commander would want his subordinates to transfer out at will, especially given the constant shortage of personnel everywhere?

So people went AWOL and were later accepted into another unit — that’s how it semi-officially worked in reality. Even recruiters used this, luring good specialists into positions they needed from other units. As soon as the AWOL soldier got a new position, a notice was sent out that he was already serving, and the AWOL case ended. Now it won’t work this way, so naturally many are unhappy. Because people went AWOL not only in search of a ‘better position’ or a different unit, but also just to escape stupid commanders — ‘butchers’ who threw subordinates into senseless attacks and assaults.

On the other hand, AWOL was a kind of brake that hindered fighting — war is war, and losses are inevitable. Before being sent to the front lines, units sometimes ‘lost’ up to half their personnel — people fled AWOL to save their lives.”

Senior Sergeant Ihor M., Marine Corps:

“If they start jailing people for AWOL, it will enslave soldiers even more, who already feel like they’re in bondage — and that’s no joke. Many of us volunteered in 2022, but we never imagined it would drag on for years — with no leave, no discharge. Now, if there’s no peace and the war lasts for several more years, it turns out we are doomed to fight almost for life. In the army, there’s a saying: you can only leave it feet first.

Many of my comrades went AWOL simply because they couldn’t take it mentally — risking their lives nonstop, without rotation or leave. And then they returned — AWOL was a loophole that was rarely punished. By the way, many went AWOL because of the abusive attitude of commanders — that happens all the time in the army. There are many incompetent officers who treat soldiers as dust, as expendable meat, like, ‘women will give birth to more.’ In such units, every second soldier would go AWOL.”

Junior Sergeant Yevhen P., Marine Corps:

“I volunteered in 2022, then fought on all fronts. Now I’ve been AWOL for four months — and not by my own choice. In May, I was wounded and treated in a hospital. Then I was taken off staff — that’s what happens to all the wounded who are formally discharged from the hospital but still need rehabilitation and must pass a medical commission before returning to their unit.

I was receiving 600 hryvnias a month as a salary — that’s how they ‘thanked’ me for my injury. Then suddenly the unit called me and said I was AWOL. It turned out the hospital had sent a letter to the unit saying I was discharged and fit for service. Even though the doctors themselves wrote that I still needed to pass the medical commission after rehab. But going through the medical commission is a long process — huge queues, I’ve already been waiting for weeks to be examined. Now it turns out that under the new law, I should be jailed? That’s just another stupidity of our state.”

Lieutenant Colonel Kostyantyn K.:

“This is a proper and necessary law. AWOL was a real scourge of the AFU — before carrying out combat orders to take positions, a large part of the soldiers would immediately disappear. Because of mass AWOL, the Ukrainian army was turning into a kind of anarchic horde — like, ‘I’ll fight if I want to, or I’ll go AWOL and nothing will happen to me.’ The AFU was falling apart before our eyes because soldiers, sergeants, and officers left without permission.

But discipline is the foundation of any army. Without discipline, there is no army. Accordingly, no army means no state. That’s why I completely support this law.”

Major Dmytro D.:

“On the one hand, as an officer, I support any measures to strengthen discipline in the army. On the other hand, I understand that this law won’t really help, and AWOL won’t decrease. But now it will be a one-way ticket — AWOL soldiers will not return to the AFU, fearing prison, and will either hide for years or immediately flee abroad.”