Important:
- The ongoing war in Ukraine has led at least 200,000 nationals to become deserters.
- A team from TF1 has gathered testimonies.
If Andri is caught, he faces 15 years in prison for deserting the Ukrainian army. To avoid the increasingly frequent checks by the army or police, he limits his movements as much as possible. This decision was made in March 2025, just a few days after enlisting, he escaped from a military camp by slipping under barbed wire. Today, he has agreed to speak with TF1 special envoys in a neutral location. “I have lost all my rights. For example, I am really afraid of getting sick. It’s risky if I go to the doctor. Moving around the city is dangerous,” he said in the 8 PM report visible at the top of this article.
Quote:
“Thanks to accomplices in a car, I fled to the nearest city.”
“Thanks to accomplices in a car, I fled to the nearest city.”
An ex-soldier who fled the front line
When Andri must urgently hit the road, he can rely on a messaging system fueled by hundreds of other deserters. He explains, “To avoid being caught, I monitor the group we formed. Many people like me provide real-time information on the military police’s geolocation.” Suddenly, a police car appears, forcing him to rush into a café. “I don’t want to be cannon fodder and end up on the front line digging trenches and losing my life in that way,” he confesses. Across the country, there are at least 200,000 deserters. Nearly 30,000 of them have since reintegrated into the army. The rest will do anything to avoid this scenario.
TF1 journalists now venture to meet a former soldier who fled the front line after eight months of combat. They must drive long hours to reach the western part of the country. The man describes his trauma from the war as a slaughterhouse. He recounts his plan to leave the fighting. “I asked my commander for permission to go trim my beard. Thanks to accomplices in a car, I fled to the nearest city. Since I was wearing my military clothes, there was no reason to believe I was a deserter,” he confides.
The Ukrainian army often emphasizes that Russian soldiers are ill-prepared, treated like livestock. This deserter observed something completely different for eight months. “The Russians use smart tactics. They are well organized. They adjust their plans based on the weather, time of day, and seasons. Everything is well-prepared. Behind them, there are military leaders making decisions. And they are rather relevant,” he asserts.
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After four years of war, how can the hemorrhage within the ranks of the Ukrainian army be avoided? To find out, the journey heads to the outskirts of Kiev. François-Xavier Ménage, TF1’s special envoy, details, “Recruitment is obviously the number one priority for the Ukrainian army. Before the war, this army had 250,000 personnel. Today, it’s 800,000. Among those joining the Ukrainian army, there are increasingly more women. 70,000 women have joined the ranks since the conflict started. They are welcomed at a training center where civilians who want to enlist also go. Two out of the five newcomers are women.”
Darina, 21, had dreams of becoming an architect before the war. However, everything changed when the person closest to her decided to join the army. “My brother is a soldier. He told me I should also enlist. So here I am. Because we need to lend a hand to our country,” she asserts. For now, to protect Ukrainian youth, those under 25 are not required to join the army. But like Darina, more and more are volunteering.
