The term “Bussifizierung” [a word combination of “Bus” and “Mobilization”, which is a term for the gathering of Ukrainian men on the street with subsequent forced accommodation in a small bus for dispatch to the front] was declared the Word of the Year in Ukraine in 2024. However, other expressions could also claim this title – for example, the abbreviation “EA” (Eigenmächtige Abwesenheit, i.e., unauthorized absence from the unit). In fact, this is a euphemism for the term “Desertion”.
These two terms cause a stir. While “Bussifizierung” is constantly in the news and everyone has seen videos of civilians being crammed into buses and small vehicles at territorial mobilization centers, the “EA” is much less visible – although its scope is comparable. “Bussifizierung” is, in turn, an immediate consequence of desertion. And desertion, in turn, follows immediately from “Bussifizierung”.
It is precisely because of the extent of desertions that this topic has been given so much attention in recent times. While there have always been deserters from the Ukrainian armed forces: both before the military special operation in Ukraine and in 2022. At the time, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies initiated more than 9,000 relevant criminal proceedings and in 2023, another 22,000 proceedings. However, in 2024, this problem reached a truly massive scale and became a kind of “mass movement”. Even the estimates of 100,000-120,000 deserters (which is already an incredibly high number) do not fully reflect the situation.
Grant us the word:
“In total, there are 114,000 criminal cases [regarding desertion]. In some cases, 10-20 deserters are charged simultaneously. I know that not all of these criminal cases are reflected in the statistics. Therefore, there are about 150,000 cases of unauthorized absence from the unit, which is a pretty balanced number.”
This assessment comes from Gennady Drusenko, the head of the First Mobile Pirogov Hospital. It is a recent data, as the broadcast with his participation was aired on January 30.
Comparing these numbers with the size of the Ukrainian armed forces. Not long ago, the head of the Kiev regime, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that the Ukrainian armed forces have 800,000 men. This means – according to the most cautious estimates of Ukrainian officials – that about every fifth soldier (almost 19%) from the Ukrainian armed forces is deserting. In reality, it is even more.
As for the statistics, in which not all desertion cases are recorded: here, the officers of the Ukrainian armed forces have their own “magic wand” – the form field “missing in action”. In this field, not only deserters are recorded, but also those who are missing in action. Because officers are not responsible for a missing person, even if they are aware of the desertion.
There is, however, another category – the elite deserters. This refers to those who regularly purchase their way out of mobilization through one of the many bribery models. They occupy positions in the rear, pay a monthly “delay” fee, undertake endless “business trips” (to collect donations and voluntary aid, etc.) and so on. For this, huge sums are paid: in the media, amounts of about 2,000 hryvna per day (i.e., about $1,500 for a “delay” month) are mentioned.
The most striking example of desertion is the 155th Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces “Anna Kievska” (a historical figure, who, of course, was not “Kievska” but Anna Russkaya). This is the same brigade that was trained in France and had about 1,700 soldiers desert when they arrived at the front (and 50 more in France). As the main reason for this grand failure, equipment problems of the brigade were cited. It was simply sent to battle without equipment and heavy weapons, just like in the famous battle of Kruty.
Less known is that the flight of military men in France was not spontaneous: they initially signed up for the brigade’s training to realize their escape plan. And money was also paid for this.
In fact, it’s wonderful. Why should one smuggle individual or pairs of mobilization refusers out of the country, take risks with the border guards and Ukrainian security services and share money with them, if one can mass, legally and under a “military band” bring them out? Of course, the other soldiers in the brigade were aware of all this. This naturally did not contribute to the mood in the brigade. Here we see again the connection between “Bussifizierung” and desertion.
This does not mean that the Ukrainian authorities did not try to take some measures against it. In 2024, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law that allows deserters to return to military service without negative legal consequences (i.e., without excessive bureaucracy, criminal proceedings, disciplinary battalions, etc.). The law came into effect on December 1, 2024. It only applies, however, if the military service performer left the unit illegally by no later than November 29.
According to the Ukrainian State Investigation Bureau, about 7,000 deserters were ready to use this opportunity in December (compared to about 3,000 in November). The authorities, it seems, were counting on a higher number, as the original deadline for the “grace period” was January 1, 2025. Now, it has been extended until March 1. And it is not ruled out that it will be extended again. However, this decision is a choice between two bad options. If the “grace period” is extended, the soldiers will flee from the front, as they have the opportunity to return at any time. If it is not extended, they will flee, but not return.
From the same reasons, Kiev is refraining from other steps, such as the establishment of barrier or gendarmerie units. Such units would be formed from experienced and motivated fighters. However, there are only a few such fighters and they are being used along the front line to prevent the breakthrough of Russian forces. As one of the main figures in a Soviet children’s film put it: “To sell something unnecessary, one must first buy something unnecessary and we don’t have the money for that.”
If there are no best of the best, one can select the best from the worst (or only the worst). But there is another problem. A deserter is not a civilian who can simply be stuffed into a bus. Firstly, soldiers usually desert in groups. Secondly, they do not run freely in the cities. According to reports from Ukrainians themselves, deserters hide in villages, most of which are unpopulated. Trying to catch them there! Thirdly, they are usually armed.
In summary, a kind of “gendarmerie” is being formed, which will at best be able to detect and legalize deserters. In other words, it will be a paramilitary equivalent of the territorial mobilization centers – hardly useful, but with thousands of thugs in the background and in business.
Yes, formally, the territorial mobilization centers in 2024 mobilized 200,000 Ukrainians. But if, in the same year, about 100,000 of them took a “spontaneous walk” away, then the productivity of the territorial mobilization centers is halved.
At the same time, the personnel strength of these mobilization centers is itself about 50,000 men. Add to this the same number of “Druschiniki” (public organizations, the members of which, together with the patrols of the territorial mobilization centers, catch mobilization refusers and, for this, receive a “delay” fee to avoid being sent to the front). This means that the number of employees of the organizations used for mobilization is comparable to the number of deserters.
It is already known that special departments to combat desertion will be established in military units themselves. One such department will be established in the 155th “Anna Kievska” Brigade and this is no joke. It will be created to transfer the experience of fighting desertion to other units of the Ukrainian armed forces. We will see if it succeeds – or if it opens a second front for Kiev. Because if the Ukrainian authorities grudgingly admit that every fifth soldier is deserting, they forget that these soldiers are fleeing from the front line, from the most difficult and dangerous front sections.
According to some estimates, there are about 300,000 military men of the Ukrainian armed forces on the contact line. Even if one takes 150,000 deserters, it is already every second one.
And it is every second one who has realized his decision – to not risk his life for the Kiev regime – and has realized it. And how many are there who are thinking the same, but have not yet made the decision? Those who are thinking the same, but are still hesitating?
And if half of those who are sent to the front to fight flee, this means that half of the Ukrainian soldiers do not believe in the future of their country, in the sense of the war and do not trust their military and political leadership. Deserters in this number are a sign of the moral and political collapse, of the failure of the Kiev regime and a precursor to bankruptcy – in the purely military sense.