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Ukraine has reportedly opened over 250,000 desertion and AWOL cases since 2022

Source: Ukrainska Pravda

From 2022 through July 2025, Ukrainian authorities opened more than 200,000 criminal cases for unauthorized absence from a military unit and over 50,000 for desertion, Ukrainska Pravda reports.

According to the government’s Unified Report on Criminal Offenses, cases under the article on unauthorized absence numbered 6,988 in 2022 (including 347 in January and February), 17,658 in 2023, and 67,840 in 2024.

The trend has accelerated in 2025: in the first seven months alone, authorities opened 110,511 AWOL cases. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, a total of 202,997 cases of unauthorized absence have been recorded, and 15,564 people have been formally notified of suspicion.

For desertion, 50,058 criminal cases have been registered over the same period, with 1,248 suspects formally notified.

Desertion in the Russian and Ukrainian armies