The Ukrainian army is desperate for men but many of soldiers are walking away from the war with Russia. This could put Kyiv at a clear disadvantage in any ceasefire talks in the future. A shell-shocked Ukrainian soldier of the Azov brigade sits at the stabilization point after arriving from the front line, near Toretsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

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The Ukrainian army is desperate for men but many of soldiers are walking away from the war with Russia. This could put Kyiv at a clear disadvantage in any ceasefire talks in the future. A shell-shocked Ukrainian soldier of the Azov brigade sits at the stabilization point after arriving from the front line, near Toretsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops have left their positions in combat zones. Entire units have abandoned their posts in some cases, according to an AP report citing military commanders and soldiers. Ukrainian soldiers carry shells to fire at Russian positions on the front line, near the city of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

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Tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops have left their positions in combat zones. Entire units have abandoned their posts in some cases, according to an AP report citing military commanders and soldiers. Ukrainian soldiers carry shells to fire at Russian positions on the front line, near the city of Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, on March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

Many who took leave on medical grounds have not returned to the front. Others clash with commanders and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of firefights, the report added. The trauma of war has demoralised the Ukrainian troops. FILE - In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanised Brigade press service, servicemen of the 24th Mechanised Brigade install anti-tank landmines and non explosive obstacles along the front line near Chasiv Yar town in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Oct. 30, 2024. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukrainian 24th Mechanised Brigade via AP, File)

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Many who took leave on medical grounds have not returned to the front. Others clash with commanders and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of firefights, the report added. The trauma of war has demoralised the Ukrainian troops. FILE – In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 24th Mechanised Brigade press service, servicemen of the 24th Mechanised Brigade install anti-tank landmines and non explosive obstacles along the front line near Chasiv Yar town in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Oct. 30, 2024. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukrainian 24th Mechanised Brigade via AP, File)

“This problem is critical,” said Oleksandr Kovalenko, a Kyiv-based military analyst told AP. “This is the third year of war, and this problem will only grow.”

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Desertion is escalating at a time when the US government, ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, is urging President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to draft more troops and reduce the minimum age for conscription to 18. “This problem is critical,” said Oleksandr Kovalenko, a Kyiv-based military analyst told AP. “This is the third year of war, and this problem will only grow.” FILE – Military medics give first aid to wounded Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Jan. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

Even Vladimir Putin has had to contend with soldiers deserting the war front. Over 100,000 soldiers have been charged with desertion laws since 2022. It's a lot for Kyiv that has a much smaller army compared to Putin's Russia. Troops going absent without leave shows the respective armies have fallen short in keeping the soldiers motivated, and not overstretched. “It is clear that now, frankly speaking, we have already squeezed the maximum out of our people,” an officer with the 72nd Brigade told AP. The officer also noted that desertion was one of the main reasons Ukraine lost the town of Vuhledar in October. Ukraine's Khartia brigade officer, who goes by callsign Kit, left, sits while his soldiers pilot drones in a shelter on the frontline near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

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Even Vladimir Putin has had to contend with soldiers deserting the war front. Over 100,000 soldiers have been charged with desertion laws since 2022. It’s a lot for Kyiv that has a much smaller army compared to Putin’s Russia. Troops going absent without leave shows the respective armies have fallen short in keeping the soldiers motivated, and not overstretched. “It is clear that now, frankly speaking, we have already squeezed the maximum out of our people,” an officer with the 72nd Brigade told AP. The officer also noted that desertion was one of the main reasons Ukraine lost the town of Vuhledar in October. Ukraine’s Khartia brigade officer, who goes by callsign Kit, left, sits while his soldiers pilot drones in a shelter on the frontline near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

“The best way to explain it is imagining you are sitting under incoming fire and from their (Russian) side, it’s 50 shells coming toward you, while from our side, it’s just one. Then you see how your friends are getting torn to pieces, and you realize that any second, it can happen to you,” one of the deserters told AP. He left his infantry unit with permission because he needed surgery. By the time his leave was up, he couldn’t bring himself to return. He still has nightmares about the comrades he saw get killed.

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“The best way to explain it is imagining you are sitting under incoming fire and from their (Russian) side, it’s 50 shells coming toward you, while from our side, it’s just one. Then you see how your friends are getting torn to pieces, and you realize that any second, it can happen to you,” one of the deserters told AP. He left his infantry unit with permission because he needed surgery. By the time his leave was up, he couldn’t bring himself to return. He still has nightmares about the comrades he saw get killed. ewly recruited soldiers toss their hats as they celebrate the end of their training at a military base close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

Ukraine’s military recorded a deficit of 4,000 troops on the front in September owing largely to deaths, injuries and desertions, according to a lawmaker. Most deserters were among recent recruits.

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Ukraine’s military recorded a deficit of 4,000 troops on the front in September owing largely to deaths, injuries and desertions, according to a lawmaker. Most deserters were among recent recruits. Volodymyr, a 51 year old soldier of Ukraine’s 57th motorised brigade smokes near self-propelled artillery howitzer “Gvozdika” on the front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)