In Ukraine, the number of cases for AWOL and desertion is increasing, — Office of the Prosecutor General

In Ukraine, the number of cases for AWOL and desertion is increasing, — Office of the Prosecutor General

Over 200,000 cases of unauthorized absence (UA) and more than 50,000 cases of desertion were initiated in Ukraine from the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 up to July 2025, reported the Office of the Prosecutor General in its response to the request by "Ukrainska Pravda," published on Tuesday.

According to the data from the "Unified Report on Criminal Offenses," under Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized leaving of a military unit or place of service), 6,988 proceedings were registered in 2022 (347 of them in the period January-February), 17,658 in 2023, and 67,840 in 2024.

In the seven months of 2025, 110,511 proceedings have already been registered under this article, which is more than in the previous three years combined. The total number of cases opened for UA since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion is 202,997.

In 15,564 of these cases, individuals were notified of suspicion, which is less than 8%.

Regarding Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (desertion), a total of 50,058 criminal proceedings have been registered under this article from 2022 to July 2025, with notifications of suspicion in 1,248 of the cases (2.5%).

From November 29, 2024, to March 1, 2025, according to data from the State Bureau of Investigations, almost 21,100 servicemen returned to service. Over 8 months of the simplified mechanism for the return to service of those who left the unit unauthorized for the first time (UA), more than 29,000 Ukrainian servicemen returned to the Armed Forces.