Russian army has record desertions since beginning of war - UK intelligence
Russian army has record desertions since beginning of war (Getty Images)
Desertion among conscripts in the Russian army has reached a record high, with the highest number reported in the Moscow region, according to the Ministry of Defence of Great Britain.
As reported in the summary, according to the independent Russian media group Mediazona, in March 2024, Russian military courts convicted a record number of 684 RF servicemen for desertion. The total number of cases since the "partial" mobilization in September 2022 is 7400, with the highest number of cases registered in the Moscow region - 496.
According to British intelligence, many soldiers who were tracked down and handed over to military courts were sentenced to suspended terms and returned to their units and the front lines. At the same time, the number of requests for asylum in Western countries from Russian citizens evading military service has reached a record level.
"Russian soldiers, including those forcibly recruited during the September 2022 partial mobilisation, are required to remain in military service indefinitely, with little prospect of release," the British Ministry of Defence said.
Russian army recruitment
According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin is preparing to recruit more contract soldiers. The authorities seek to avoid, at least for now, another mass mobilization that could undermine public support for the war with Ukraine. By recruiting up to 30,000 new recruits per month, Russia could replenish its army ranks by 300,000 this year.
The Levada Center reports say that the majority of Russians support the war against Ukraine. In March 2024, only 16% of respondents were against it. Over the past year, the proportion of those expecting a second wave of mobilization has decreased to 48%.
