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Ukrainian Intelligence Reports Unprecedented Russian Desertion Rates. Here’s What We Know

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Ivan Khomenko
News Writer
Ukrainian Intelligence Reports Unprecedented Russian Desertion Rates. Here’s What We Know
Russian military vehicles drive through Tverskaya Street during a Victory Day parade rehearsal in Moscow, April 29, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

More than 25,000 Russian soldiers and officers have deserted from the Central Military District since late 2024, according to Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense.

According to HUR, between November 2024 and July 2025, troops from the Central Military District—one of five operational zones of the Russian Armed Forces — have “illegally abandoned their units.” The report describes widespread desertion across multiple fronts and garrisons.

Ukrainian intelligence stated that desertions occur in different forms: some soldiers abandon their positions directly on the battlefield, others disappear from permanent deployment points, while a portion fail to return from medical leave or vacations.

HUR also documented more than 30 incidents of desertion involving weapons or even military equipment between 2024 and 2025.

The agency attributed the mass desertions to “unbearable service conditions,” including severe shortages of supplies, rampant hazing, and frequent deployment to so-called “meat assaults” — high-casualty frontal attacks ordered by commanders.

HUR added that internal Russian military reports list “failure to follow orders” among the official causes of death for service members.

“Over the past year, more than 30 such cases have been documented, which indicates a systematic practice of executions of Russian soldiers who refuse to go into battle,” the agency said.

Ukraine’s intelligence service has repeatedly reported rising morale problems within the Russian army, particularly among units replenished through forced mobilization. Similar patterns of desertion were earlier noted in other military districts, including the Southern and Eastern ones.

Earlier, Russia launched its first criminal case under a new law punishing soldiers for surrendering, seeking a 16‑year sentence for serviceman Roman Ivanishin, who was captured by Ukrainian forces in 2023 and later exchanged.

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