More than 25,000 soldiers and officers of Russia's Central Military District have gone AWOL in nine months – from November 2024 to July 2025.

Source : Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU)

Details : According to DIU, this is one of the five military districts in the Russian Federation, and it is there that mass desertions are being recorded. Some soldiers are abandoning their positions directly on the front line, while others are disappearing from their permanent locations or not returning from leave or medical treatment.

In 2024-2025, there were also more than 30 cases of soldiers fleeing with weapons or even military equipment. The main reasons are unbearable conditions of service, hazing, lack of supplies, and mass deployments to so-called "meat-grinder" assaults.

DIU adds that internal reports from Russian troops have listed a cause of death called "failure to obey orders", which, according to Ukrainian intelligence, indicates the shooting of soldiers who refuse to go on suicide attacks.

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