Russian soldiers deserting

 Yahoo News:

Number of Russian soldiers deserting nearly double since summer

The number of Russian military personnel seeking help to desert from their units has nearly doubled since the summer, The Moscow Times reported on Dec. 4, citing data from “Idite Lesom” (Get to Forest), an organization that helps Russians avoid participating in the war against Ukraine.

Get to Forest has received 577 appeals over the past three months, compared to 305 in June through August. More than a thousand Russian military personnel who attempted to desert have received legal counseling since April. Most of them sought help in the fall.

Read also: Russia lost 36,000 troops in six weeks — Ukraine’s Defense Minister

The highest number of desertion attempts was recorded in October (218 cases), the lowest in June (54 cases). There were 175 desertion attempts in November, fewer than in September and October, but more than in any other month.

Most soldiers decide to defect after being wounded and hospitalized, the organization’s head Grigoriy Sverdlin said. Sometimes volunteers help soldiers desert from frontline zone, but such cases are extremely rare due to the limited means of communication at the front and the lack of necessary documents. Legally, soldiers must carry their passports and military ID cards, and their commanders have no right to confiscate them. In practice, documents are often taken away and returned only when a soldier goes on leave or is hospitalized.
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Russian casualties have been significant with reports of as many as 300,000 wounded are killed.  That is the kind of casualty numbers that might inspire troops to want to avoid serving.

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