How to escape Russia’s army: Soldiers serving in Ukraine seek a way out

Russian servicemen are deserting in significant numbers amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, with a 24-year-old from Ufa named Oleg describing how he was allegedly deceived into military service through a false job offer at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and subsequently fled Russia via Belarus and Armenia with help from the deserter-assistance group "Idite Lesom." The UN estimates at least 50,000 Russian soldiers—roughly one in ten fighting in Ukraine—have deserted since 2022, while Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fyodorov reported in January that over 200,000 Ukrainian servicemen have gone AWOL or deserted, indicating a severe manpower crisis on both sides of the conflict.