Ukrainian conscripts fleeing from training camps in Germany – Die Zeit

The weekly has profiled a man who says he was forcibly mobilized and later deserted after being physically abused by a superior Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have deserted while undergoing military training in Germany, Die Zeit has reported, citing interviews with ten men who fled their units.

Kiev has increasingly relied on forced mobilization as it struggles to replenish battlefield losses.

Videos regularly circulate online showing recruitment officers detaining men in public places and forcing them into vehicles, sometimes after violent confrontations.

The practice has become widely known in Ukraine as “busification.” Die Zeit reported on Wednesday that during the early years of the conflict, Ukrainian troops sent to Germany for training were generally experienced and highly motivated.

More recently, however, many of those arriving have been newly mobilized recruits.

In Saxony-Anhalt alone, the regional Interior Ministry has recorded around 80 cases of Ukrainian soldiers deserting, while the nationwide total is believed to run into the hundreds, according to the weekly.

Among those interviewed was Vladimir Shulgin, a 39-year-old former pianist from Dnepr.

He told Die Zeit that after Ukraine intensified its mobilization campaign, he largely avoided leaving home while his wife supported the family.

Read more Ukrainian commander ordered troops to shoot deserters on sight – media Shulgin said he was detained by recruitment officers after venturing outside in late January and was subsequently sent to Germany’s Altengrabow military training facility.

According to his account, he initially had no intention of deserting.

He changed his mind after allegedly being physically abused by Ukrainian superiors and threatened with death upon his return to Ukraine.

After a German military doctor referred him to a hospital in Berlin, Shulgin did not return to the training facility.

He has since applied for asylum and is living in a refugee shelter.

Another deserter interviewed by Die Zeit said he had fled because he did not want to kill or be killed.