We're talking to a soldier friend in an undisclosed place in the war-torn Donbass. He is simply a powerful, approaching 2 meters tall man about 50, with a grayened face. He late returned from another fewer weeks on the front line. As he says, the times erstwhile the soldiers were in position 2 or 3 days before they were rotated by another group, had long passed.
— There should be 90 people on our pits right now, due to the fact that that's what the rota counts — he says, drinking black, strong coffee with sugar. - And it's 20. I've been on the front line for 5 weeks all the time without a day out to even bathe.
— Fires frequently last around the clock, says another soldier who is presently recovering from wounds sustained during intense fighting. - If not artillery, it's assault or drones. If the commanders gave even a fewer days of rest, we'd have time to regenerate, calm our heads, but what if you're in position a period or a half? I've been the longest for 36 days.
Semi-legal volunteer
According to a friend of the soldier with whom we speak, staff shortages and deficiency of rotation are among the main, though not the only reasons for self-loathing from individuals.
The Ukrainian lawyer General states that by the end of last year more than 90 1000 cases were launched concerning desertion and dismissal from individuals without permission. This means that this percent is approaching 10%. The phenomenon of escape from the units has intensified over the past year. akin data on the Russian side indicate 2.5 percent desertion. However, erstwhile reading these data, it should be remembered that they come from state institutions of 2 warring countries and in a situation of intense disinformation war.
Even in view of this fact, the authoritative Ukrainian data are alarmingly high. And according to our sources, they do not cover all the distances from individuals.
One of the soldiers explains to us an informal mechanics that developed in front units. “The boys are not rotated for 2 or 3 months, but I besides know those who have been here for 8 months. They didn't see family, wife, kids. It's average for them to want to go home. They don't get permits, so they do it on a voluntary basis. But these are people trained and enrolled in the system, so they'll spend a fewer weeks with their household and are called back, without any consequences. This is specified a semi-legal self-volunteer, now very popular. I'm reasoning about doing it myself, he says.
— Not the fresh ones usually escape, but those who have been fighting for a long time simply get tired of it, adds another soldier. “ The escapes intensified erstwhile we began to deficiency people and dense fighting began. People mentally can't stand it, many run away, looking at my company, it's inactive 20 percent, although it's hard to figure out, due to the fact that we besides have quite a few combat losses. But many come back too. If they're out of the unit for more than a week, they take their monthly salary, that's all.
The expression that soldiers are talking about is the voluntary leaving of the unit, commonly called "SeZeCze", from the first letters from the Ukrainian name. According to the letter of Ukrainian law, it is about leaving the unit for a period of not more than 3 days, for which he threatens to be arrested for 5 days. In practice, ‘SeZeCze’ covers much longer periods and military units overlook them and frequently neglect to evidence them in their reports.
To the Ukrainian state, more than to punish, it is now crucial that the soldiers simply return to the fight. Hence the popular action in fresh weeks: “Come back from “SeZeCze”, everything will be fine”, or “Come back from “SeZeCze”, waiting for you”.
Nevertheless, not all return due to the fact that the reasons for periodic remoteness or hard desertion are more.
They're getting off the street.
The fundamental origin of current military deficits is simply a flawed recruitment system. At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 remembering russian times, outdated military stations were converted into modern by the presumption of recruitment centers. However, corruption scandals shortly began to shake up. Nor did they prove to be more effective than their predecessors. The consequence is chaotic grabs under performance halls or on the streets.
Alexander and I are talking at a pub in Lviv. We met in 2013 on the Kiev Maidan. Alexander came there with friends to participate in the Revolution of Dignity, which led to the overthrow of promoskie president Viktor Yanukovych.
More than a decade later, the tiny of Alexander’s stature is well in his 40 ’ s. He claims that he can inactive be of usage to his country and in a much better way than in the trenches.
“I am a computer scientist at a large American company,” he says. “I work on systems that, among another things, are based on artificial intelligence. I tried to contact military structures and offer them my services, but in general dismay no 1 answered my proposals. The state is incapable to usage my skills. Instead, it's easier to throw me in the trench. inactive on Majdan, I threw stones at the berks, but present I don't feel able to fight a weapon in my hand.
Alexander lives just 3 blocks from the pub where we talk, but to go home, he orders a taxi. It's safer this way. They keep people in the streets and choice them up consecutive to the draft board, he explains.
Faulty brigades 150
Another reason is bad organization and equally bad command.
An example are the 150 series brigades (from 150 to 157), which would yet number more than 50,000 soldiers and halt the offensive of Russian troops. The effect of creating them proved to be lamented.
First of all, brigades were formed from recently mobilized soldiers, frequently from street grabs, with zero motivation to fight. Often, no greater experience was experienced by the leadership. “ Many commanders just died in battle. After years on the front, others began to go into private business. The front besides corrupts people. Whoever was a good commander earlier present prefers to profit from corrupt stories. This all reflects both the situation at the front and the training at the back,” explains 1 of the soldiers who have been fighting on the first lines since the Russian invasion began.
The most prominent example of the collapse of the 150 series brigade was described by Ukrainian writer Yuri Butusov the destiny of the 155th brigade. The fresh brigade was to be trained in France. The French put EUR 900 million in training and equipment. However, any Ukrainian soldiers were sent to training in France even without basic military training. In total, 1,700 soldiers were deserted, or about a 3rd of the state of the brigade. erstwhile she was yet thrown into combat, she suffered so dense losses that she practically lost her combat ability and had to supplement her individual condition.
Such failures are not without influence on the attitude of Western allies who have the feeling of being thrown distant in the mud of money and equipment. Next to the French, the 150 series brigade besides trained Germany, with akin effect.
Secrets of the Ukrainian Legion in Poland
The Ukrainian Legion in Poland is accompanied by a powerful information confusion.
The news of its creation came in the summertime of 2024. In July at the NATO Public Forum during the alliance summit in Washington, D.C., abroad Minister Radosław Sikorski said that “in Poland we are starting to prepare the first Ukrainian brigade of volunteers and respective 1000 of them registered to participate in this venture.”
Just a fewer days later, TVP3 Lublin reported that the first volunteers from the legion began training at a camp close Lublin and are due to enter the front in a fewer months.
At the beginning of October, however, the head of MON Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the legion would not be established due to the fact that "the number of Ukrainians willing to join the ranks of the Ukrainian Legion is besides tiny for the Polish Army to conduct training".
Another period passed, and Ukrainian news agency Ukriformin reported that more than 500 people had come to the legion. After another 10 days, RMF FM unofficially established that this number does not actually exceed 30 people.
At the end of December, there was another twist erstwhile the Ukrainian ambassador to Poland, Vasil Bodnar, informed that “more than a 1000 applications were received to the Ukrainian Legion, which was created in Poland.”
When we approached the Ministry of Defence in mid-January of that year with a question about the legion, it reacted with utmost caution. Although Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz utilized the phrase “Legion Ukrainian” in October, now the press office pointed out to us that “not to usage the phrase “Ukrainian legion” (this may make a false impression that Poland is recruiting a abroad army or creating and equipping a certain Ukrainian formation).
From the further part of the answer we learned that the basic training for Ukrainian volunteers temporarily staying in Poland was carried out on a voluntary basis. The training is carried out on the basis of Polish experience "from the organisation of specified trainings prepared for soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the EU Mission in support of Ukraine".
However, the hotel did not give us the number of Ukrainian volunteers, recommending that we address the Ukrainian side. That's what we did. To the Ukrainian embassy in Poland we addressed questions about the position of legion and the number of people who signed it.
From the answer we have learned that the Ukrainian Legion has been recruiting volunteers among Ukrainian citizens surviving abroad since October 2024. So far, 2 groups of volunteers have signed with him — the first 1 on 12 November 2024 and the second 1 on 10 January 2025. The 3rd group will sign contracts by the end of February. However, we have not found out what the real number of these volunteers is.
Finally, about soldiers from the Ukrainian Legion in Poland, we asked those who are presently in different places of the front. They replied that they had heard about the legion, but no of them had met any of this formation on the front so far.
Bad at tank training
Personnel deficits – as well as quality ones – besides affect another trainings for Ukrainian soldiers carried out in Poland.
When we asked MON about details of training Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard tanks close Żagań, the ministry did not give us information about Polish training possible or the number of Ukrainian soldiers taking part in training. We do not uncover them either, but from our sources we know that the number of trained Ukrainians in the autumn was only 1 3rd of the state that Poles could accept.
— And their condition leaves much to be desired — we hear. — In any cases, alcohol or drug problems occur.
As boomerang returns besides the problem of desertion. “ Escapes are usually at the end of all training,” says our caller. “ We are not talking about immense numbers. The proximity of the German border is besides conducive to escape.
