More than 25,000 Russian soldiers and officers abandoned their units in the Central Military District between November 2024 and July 2025, according to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.
The desertions take various forms. Russian soldiers abandon positions directly on the battlefield, disappear from permanent deployment points, and some simply fail to return from medical leave or vacations, HUR reported on 18 October.
The intelligence agency also documented cases of desertion involving weapons and even military equipment — over 30 such incidents were recorded in 2024–2025 alone.
HUR identifies unbearable service conditions as the primary drivers of these mass desertions, specifically widespread hazing ("dedovshchina"), catastrophic supply shortages, and mass deployment to so-called "meat assaults."
Internal Russian military reports include a category of "failure to execute orders" among causes of personnel deaths. "
Over the past year, more than 30 such cases have been documented, which essentially indicates a systematic practice of executing Russian military personnel who refuse to go to slaughter for Kremlin ambitions," HUR wrote.
The Central Military District represents one of five military districts operating within the structure of the Russian armed forces.
