Russia's war in Ukraine: Forcing deserters to the front line

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian courts have tried around 8,000 cases involving the country's military personnel. The number of trials in 2023 increased fivefold compared to the previous year. Each month, an average of 700 sentences are handed down, according to the independent Russian media outlet Mediazona.

Most cases deal with unauthorized departure from military units (88%), disobeying orders (6%) and desertion (3%). In many cases, judges have handed down suspended sentences, which permit the armed forces to return convicted service personnel to the front line.

That's according to Ivan Chuvilyaev, who works with Get Lost, a Russian organization that helps people evade conscription and leave the country. He also said that about 70% of those who have sought help with his organization this year were professionals under contract.

"Every one of them, in one way or another, had practically been forced to sign up. There are fewer and fewer mobilized service members in active duty because so many have died already," the human rights activist told DW. "They all want to flee because they only see two options: either get killed or get dragged to court."

Widespread torture

In some cases, Chuvilyaev says, deserters hid in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, which was dangerous, as they faced the threat of torture — such as being forced to stay in a deep pit, exposed to the elements — and being brought back to the front line if captured.

The activist said this was a common torture method, which was also employed when soldiers were caught drinking alcohol, arguing with superiors, or leaving their unit without authorization.

"Sometimes, those unwilling to fight are kept in the basement of an abandoned building, like a school or a hospital, where they are tortured," he said. "After one month of being in a 'cell' like that, kept under inhumane circumstances, you'd agree to anything, no matter what."

Many looking to flee are wounded, he added. Vladimir, a former soldier whose family has wished he remain anonymous, decided to flee from a hospital in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Donetsk region. He had been conscripted in 2022 but had refused to enlist. Over the following two years, he suffered multiple injuries that put him in a hospital, where he fled before he could be returned to the front.

But in 2024, Vladimir's family learned that he had been captured and tortured in a basement. His wife says that her husband had been forced to enlist with the Russian armed forces. In April, he was deployed with an assault brigade and killed shortly after on the front line.

A Telegram channel that collects reports from fighters in the Donetsk region posted a chilling account from another deserter: "They took us into a windowless room without any beds. On the damp mattresses lay people infected with HIV and hepatitis. We had to sleep on the ground," one person wrote.

They also spoke of torture by beating and electrocution and said that those who had agreed to join an assault brigade were promised suspended sentences.

'No words can describe the horror'

In February 2022, as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mikhail, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, was already with the Russian armed forces.

"They had told us it looked like there'd be a complete invasion, and everyone thought it'd be over soon," the young man told DW.

But Russia's invasion faltered in the face of massive Ukrainian resistance. By the summer of 2022, after six months of service, Mikhail decided to enlist. He said he found the financial security appealing: The pay was good, service members could access good mortgages, and there were other benefits, too. He said he had mentally prepared for what he would face on the battlefield by watching movies and videos of real battles.

"I thought I was prepared to see death, destruction and loss," he said. "But in reality, there are no words to describe the horrors of war."

Sent to the front line

At first, Mikhail was deployed to a brigade in Russia, where he was promised work in the area instead of being sent to a combat zone. "I go to work in the morning and come home at night": That's what he said he thought it would be like.

Instead, he and a colleague were unexpectedly called into a company for reconnaissance, where they were told they'd be sent away on a mission. After boarding a military plane, they headed to Russia's Belgorod region, right along the border with Ukraine.

"The front in Kharkiv hadn't been opened yet," Mikhail recounted. He spent the winter planting mines, and in June, he crossed the border into Ukraine. Injured during an attack, he spent time in a hospital that constantly ran Russian television programs.

"They kept saying everything was going well and that Ukrainian soldiers were being captured in droves," he told DW. "Everyone in my room just laughed at such nonsense."

One of the men Mikhail met in hospital openly regretted having signed up with Russia's armed forces. Mikhail recalled that the man had also been attracted by the relatively high salary of 200,000 rubles (€2,141, $2,138) the military offered. 

Mikhail also recalled how members of his brigade were tortured for disobeying orders. They, too, were forced to stay in deep pits, made to wear long clothes and carry heavy equipment, and had weights and truck tire rims tied to their feet.

Few dare to desert

By now, Mikhail believes that the Kremlin's initial promise that Kyiv would be captured quickly had been displaced by a different reality: "The politicians will gather around a table and come to an agreement," he said, "but they won't be able to bring back the dead."

He added that most soldiers still wouldn't want to flee, especially if they had families. "If you're in your forties and have children and a home, then leaving the country is tantamount to death," he said. Many, he explained, were afraid they'd never see their families again.

Mikhail said that his parents lived in Russia but had accepted his decision to flee the country. While they had initially supported Russia's war in Ukraine, they had changed their minds after learning about what life was really like along the front lines.

The young man only narrowly escaped death on multiple occasions. In one instance, he recounted how he once briefly stepped away from his comrades to smoke a cigarette, who were then struck by a grenade.

"Afterwards, I had to collect their body parts in black bags," he recounted, his face void of expression. This and several similar incidents are what made him decide to reach out to Get Lost. The organization helped him leave Russia.

It was simpler than he thought, he said. Now, Mikhail is starting to rebuild his future. "One day, I want to go to Costa Rica and work in the IT sector," the young man told DW.

This article was originally published in Russian.