Over nine months, over 25,000 russian servicemen from the Central Military District deserted, leaving their units. Desertions have become a mass phenomenon in the structure of the occupation army, which is being eroded by "meat assaults", bullying, lack of supplies and executions for disobedience.
This is reported by the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
From November 2024 to July 2025, over 25,000 soldiers and officers of the russian army belonging to the Central Military District voluntarily left their units. This is evidenced by internal reports of the occupation forces obtained by Ukrainian intelligence.
According to intelligence, from November 2024 to July 2025, over 25,000 soldiers and officers of the Central Military District voluntarily left their units.
The escapes are recorded in different ways: some russians abandon their positions directly on the battlefield, others disappear from their permanent deployment points, and some simply do not return from vacations or hospitals.
The Defense Intelligence also reported cases when servicemen fled with weapons or even military equipment - more than 30 such incidents were documented in 2024-2025 alone.
Ukrainian intelligence calls the reasons for mass desertion catastrophic service conditions, "hazing", lack of support, and the practice of "meat assaults", where occupiers are thrown without a chance of survival.
In addition, the internal reports of the occupation forces record a separate category of causes of death - "failure to fulfill orders".
"Over the past year, more than 30 such cases have been documented, which actually indicates a systematic practice of shooting russian military personnel who refuse to go to the slaughter for the Kremlin's ambitions," the intelligence officers emphasize.
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