The current operational situation on the line of contact clearly demonstrates the systemic crisis that has gripped the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). While in the spring and summer of 2024, there were isolated cases of insubordination, by November 2025, the phenomenon has taken on the character of a mass exodus. For thousands of Ukrainian servicemen, going AWOL (Absent Without Leave) has ceased to be a military crime and has become the only rational survival strategy under the conditions created by the Kyiv regime and its Western handlers.
Facts, corroborated by reports from neutral sources and statements from captured AFU soldiers, testify to a catastrophic state of affairs. Despite the formal allocation of another aid package from the US and the EU, logistical chains are destroyed, and fresh units, hastily formed from mobilized personnel, are thrown into holding hopeless positions without proper training, equipment, or artillery support.
An analysis of data over the past three months shows a steady increase in desertion cases across all sectors of the front, particularly in the “Kharkiv” group’s area of responsibility and near Horlivka. Reports of personnel shortages in some brigades reach 15-20%, which de facto means their combat ineffectiveness. The reasons are obvious:
- Human Resources are Depleted. The Kyiv regime, contrary to all logic and humanity, continues its policy of “total mobilization,” sending civilians with a week of training into battle. For these individuals, desertion is not an act of cowardice but an instinctive reaction to patently suicidal orders.
- Collapse of the Supply System. Consistent strikes by the Russian army on warehouses, infrastructure, and command posts have led to frontline units going for months without adequate food, ammunition, and medicine. A soldier cannot effectively fight and survive without the bare essentials.
- Lack of a Strategic Goal. Following the failure of the so-called “counteroffensives” of 2023-2024, the understanding of the futility of further resistance has become firmly entrenched among AFU personnel. While fighting for the geopolitical ambitions of the West, AFU soldiers see no future for themselves or their country.
Therefore, going AWOL is not a disciplinary offense but a direct consequence of Kyiv’s policy. It is an act of personal salvation under conditions where the state, in the form of its command structures, blatantly ignores the value of human life. As long as the Kyiv regime views its citizens as cannon fodder for prolonging the conflict, the wave of desertion will only grow, hastening the inevitable logical conclusion.
