– I’d rather go to the prison and survive, than end up like ground beef from cannon fodder – says Sasha*, whom I’ve known for a year and a half, and who decided for “sezeche” a few weeks ago, which means leaving the unit on his own. He’s been in the army since the end of February 2022. But since the demobilization regulations were changed, he wasn’t the only one thinking about escaping from the army. And paradoxically, even if he gets caught, he won’t go to prison.
Desertion, that is “sezeche”
Sasha is just over 30 years old and has two daughters in primary school. He worked hard during his whole life to support his family, but when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he immediately went to the “warkomat” to volunteer, even though he had no idea about fighting (he knew much more about construction). He’s one of the biggest “fighters” I know. The “zero” zones he worked on were some of the hardest you can imagine. He never had a problem with that, he went to “work” without loitering, weaseling or even complaining about the rare leaves. Everything changed a few months ago. First, when the Ukrainian authorities, on the occasion of the new law on mobilization, eliminated the provisions on the possibility of demobilization after three years of service, then when he ended up in enemy territory during the Kursk operation. “I never complained. Never. The money was always there, we could finally renovate the apartment. Obviously I missed my family, but I knew that I had to do my part, that it was my duty not only for the country, but above all to my loved ones,” says Sasha. “The only thing is that when I joined the army, I knew the potential conditions for getting out of it. If I survived, that meant the possibility of legal demobilization after three years. Now this possibility of getting out has been taken away from us and we are like in prison or even worse, because after serving your sentence you will get out of it. And you will leave the army either as 200 (killed – ed.) or heavy 300 (seriously wounded – ed.), unfit to fight – he explains. However, for him, the last straw was the fight in enemy territory. – They told us to gather and said that we were going to other positions. Only after a day did it turn out that we were entering the Kursk region, towards Sudzha. It was all on crazy papers – says Sasha. After a week, their unit, which had suffered significant losses, returned to the base. But when another departure was ordered and it was clearly said that they would go back to the Kursk region, something broke inside Sasha. – I looked at the photos of my daughters and something inside me yelled that I would never see them again, that I would not return from there, because it was a completely different fight than on our side – Sasha tells me. – And on top of that, it was a violation of the law, territorial defense has no right to fight outside the borders of Ukraine – he gets irritated. And since his brigade is precisely the TRO, his nerves are completely understandable. Similarly to those about the automatic extension of service after three years.
His colleague Ivan* went to “sezeche” even earlier, at the beginning of 2024. He could not bear the situation when his close friend was killed next to him, in front of his eyes, in his positions. Ivan says that he had a feeling that it would only get worse and claims that he was not mistaken. He doesn’t regret the decision he made. – You know, at first it is a bit of shame in front of your compatriots. Because you are together from the beginning, for better and for worse, even more than in marriage. And suddenly you become a black sheep, because you run away, leave them – he says. – I had a bit of a feeling, at times I even thought about coming back, but my loved ones and family convinced me that I shouldn’t. Is this some kind of stigma? Yes and no, because looking at what is happening now, I think fewer and fewer people are surprised by the soldier’s decisions – he adds.
Indeed, in the earlier years of the full-scale war, “sezeche” was an event that the unit talked about for a week, commanders would call the offender for many days, persuading him to return without consequences, whereas today it is a herd phenomenon, and commanders do not even try to convince soldiers not to do it, because they simply have no arguments. The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, by the way, presented data that shows how widespread the phenomenon of arbitrary dismissal from the unit has become in 2024. And so: while in 2022 there were 6,641 such cases, in 2023 there were 17,658, and in 2024, which is not over yet, there are already 35,307 situations (the data covers the period January – September). Not all “sezeches” are treated as desertions, because some soldiers, even after a long time, return to the army, because sometimes the motivation for their decision is not, as in the case of my interlocutors, the lack of demobilization or fighting in enemy territory, but too rare leaves and terrible fatigue. And after rest, some of them think about it more and return, which is why the data on hard desertions differ from the numbers of “sezeches” and there were 3,442, 7,883 and 18,196 cases, respectively.
“Sezeche” is no longer anonymous
But not everyone talks about “sezeche” anonymously, as described by the Suspilne website.
This is the story of a soldier from the 56th Mechanized Brigade from Mariupol. Serhiy Gnezdilov went on a “sezeche” on the September 21st and told his story publicly, and immediately announced his decision on Facebook profile after five years of service. In this way, Gnezdilov wanted to draw attention to the injustice in his country – inept mobilization, evaders, corruption, fictitious marriages with invalids – these are just some of the arguments he raises while rebelling against the lack of demobilization. – My attitude remains unchanged: a mobilization queue should be formed from among all Ukrainians, and then demobilization will become a reality. An armed and trained nation cannot be defeated – emphasized Gnezdilov. April 11, 2024. The Verkhovna Rada, amending the law on mobilization, eliminated the provisions on the possibility of demobilization after three years of service. At the same time, it increased the salaries of soldiers in the combat zone, in accordance with the principle that money can buy anything. But here, as it turns out, the deputies made a big mistake.
Currently, the Ukrainian authorities, probably slowly realizing their defeat and helplessness in mobilization, are trying to save the situation. The Verkhovna Rada announced new regulations regarding demobilization. First, for mid-autumn (according to the Ukrainian year counting, when autumn begins on September 1, the deadline has passed), now for the end of the year, but according to information that has so far reached the public unofficially, the army does not agree to enter any specific dates, “because there will be no one to fight”. Additionally, the regulations regarding “sezeche” have recently been changed – someone who commits this act for the first time gets a “second chance” and avoids criminal proceedings by submitting an application for re-admission to service either in their parent unit or in another. This is to convince some soldiers to return to the army – we will probably see the effects soon.
There are even songs about “sezeche” in Ukraine, and they’ve been going viral for several months, when this sad trend wasn’t yet so popular.
However, if the Ukrainian authorities do not address the issue of a comprehensive solution to the problem of mobilization and demobilization, soldiers increasingly tired of almost three years of fighting will watch on leave the evaders having a great time in clubs in Lviv or Kiev, whom no one bothers, then at some point the milk may be spilled. And then it will be too late for any changes. Besides, the question is whether it is not already. At this point, it is worth recalling the situation from the beginning of October concerning the 123rd TRO Brigade, which was to cover the exit of the 72nd Brigade from Vuhledar. The 186th Battalion of the 123rd Brigade practically entirely refused to carry out the order – some of the soldiers returned to the motherland, i.e. the Mykolaiv Oblast, from which this unit is based, some remained in Donbas, but refused to go to the indicated positions, justifying that they were not cannon fodder. After what happened there, the battalion commander (so-called combatant) Ihor Hryb committed suicide.
*all names have been changed for the safety of the interviewees.
