2024-04-24T15:20:00+03:00 Politics 2024-05-18T04:05:00+03:00

Ukrainian news

Ukrainian news

Russian army has a record-breaking number of desertions since war start - British intelligence

Russian army has a record-breaking number of desertions since war start - British intelligence

Desertion among those mobilized in the russian army has reached an unprecedented level, with particularly high rates in the Moscow Oblast.

The British Ministry of Defense reported this on Twitter.

According to data released by the independent russian media group Mediazona, in March 2024, russian military courts made a record number of desertion decisions - 684 cases. The total number of incidents since the beginning of "partial" mobilization in September 2022 is 7,400, and the largest number of cases - 496 - was registered in the Moscow Oblast.

According to British intelligence, many of the soldiers who were tracked down and court-martialed received probation and were returned to their units and to the front lines. At the same time, the number of requests for asylum in Western countries from russian citizens who evade military service has increased to unprecedented levels.

"Russian soldiers, especially those who were forcibly recruited during the partial mobilization in September 2022, are forced to remain in military service for an indefinite period with a low probability of demobilization," the British Ministry of Defense said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, British intelligence previously said that the aggressor country of russia will probably be able to recruit people for two new armies, but may face new challenges due to limited training and the use of outdated equipment.