TASS has calculated that the Ukrainian army is losing 17,000 troops every month to desertion or AWOL (absent without leave) troops, and that nearly 107,000 official desertion cases have been reported since the start of fighting. The numbers cited by TASS are based on data from Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation. As many as 60,164 AWOL cases and 9,332 desertion cases were reported in the period from January 1, 2025 to April 30, 2025, or around 15,000 AWOL and 1,500-2,000 desertion cases a month, TASS reports further.
Despite such numbers, very few cases are brought to court, with the Ukrainian military preferring to apprehend such soldiers and return them to the front.
