Rising defiance: Russian army battles increasing desertion amid torture allegations

Since the beginning of the war with Ukraine, Russian courts have considered over eight thousand cases against soldiers. In the second year of the war, 2023, their number increased fivefold compared to 2022. According to the independent Russian news portal Mediazona, around 700 sentences are issued each month. Most cases involve leaving a military unit without permission (88%), followed by refusal to follow an order (6%) and desertion (3%).

In some cases, courts impose only suspended sentences for leaving a military unit without permission, which allows the Russian army to send the convicted back to the front, said Ivan Chuvilyayev from the Russian movement "Walk in the Forest," which supports deserters. The DW interlocutor claims that about 70% of contract soldiers sought help from this organisation this year.

Each of them was practically forced to sign a contract in one way or another. There are fewer and fewer mobilised men, as many of them have already died. Everyone wants to escape because they have only two options: either die or face trial, explains the human rights defender.

Sometimes, it happens that deserters hide in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia, says Ivan Chuvilyayev. This is dangerous because if caught, they face torture and a return to the front. Torture is widespread and threatens soldiers even for drinking alcohol, arguing with superiors, and leaving the unit without permission.

It happens that those who don't want to fight are placed in basements of abandoned buildings, such as a school or hospital, and tortured there. After a month spent in such a "cell" in inhumane conditions, they agree to anything, regardless of what awaits them, explains Ivan Chuvilyayev.

Many of those wanting to escape are injured. Vladimir (last name known to DW) chose the easiest escape route: through a hospital in the occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk. In 2022, he was conscripted into the Russian army but refused to sign a contract.

During the two years of fighting, Vladimir was hospitalised several times due to wounds. Before returning to the front, he escaped. However, he was caught and tortured in a basement, which his relatives learned about in 2024. His wife recalls that her husband was eventually forced to sign a contract with the Russian army. He was subsequently sent to an assault brigade in April and soon after died at the front.

On a Telegram channel about mobilised persons from the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic", another deserter shares his story.

They took us to a room without beds or windows. Those with HIV and hepatitis lay on damp mattresses. We had to sleep on the floor, he writes. He adds that he was tortured with beatings and electric shocks. Those who agreed to join the assault brigade were offered suspended sentences.

On 24 February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Mikhail (name changed) was serving as a conscript in the Russian army. We were told nothing about it; it didn't look like there would be a full invasion. Back then, everyone thought it would end quickly, this young man told DW.

However, the Russian invasion faced fierce resistance in Ukraine. In summer 2022, Mikhail decided to sign a contract with the army after six months of service. He says he liked the social security: good salary, military mortgage, and other benefits.

Watching war movies, he mentally prepared for what might happen to him. I thought I was ready for death, injury, and other losses. But it quickly became clear that nothing could convey the scale of horror at the front, he recounts.

Mikhail was first assigned to a brigade in Russia. There he was promised that he would serve locally and not be sent to the front. Go to work in the morning and return home in the evening - that's how he then imagined it.

In September 2023, he and his colleagues were unexpectedly transferred to a reconnaissance company, where they were told they would be sent "to perform certain tasks." They were put in a military vehicle and driven to the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.

The front near Kharkiv wasn't opened yet, recalls Mikhail, who laid mines until spring and finally crossed Ukraine in June. He was injured in an attack. In the hospital, he could constantly watch Russian television. They were saying everything was going well and that Ukrainian soldiers were surrendering en masse. Everyone in my ward laughed at that nonsense, he adds.

Mikhail recalls that one of the men staying in the hospital with him regretted deciding to serve in the Russian army. But the high salary – around 150,000 roubles (over £1,250) – attracted this 40-year-old father of two to join.

Those from Mikhail's brigade who refused orders were also tortured. They were placed in pits in the ground, forced to wear heavy clothes and gear for long periods, and heavy weights or truck wheel rims were tied to their feet.

A different conviction has now replaced the belief in the Kremlin's promises of quickly capturing Kyiv, says Mikhail. Politicians will eventually sit down at the negotiating table and reach an agreement, but they won't be able to bring back the dead, he adds.

According to him, most soldiers still don't want to escape, especially if they have families. When you're 40, have children and a home, leaving for another country is like death, he believes, noting that many soldiers fear they will never see their families again.

He has parents in Russia, but they accepted his decision to desert. Initially, they supported the war against Ukraine but changed their opinion when they learned from him about the real conditions at the front.

Mikhail, who narrowly avoided death several times, recalls how once he stepped away from his colleagues to smoke a cigarette, and a grenade hit them at that moment. Later, I had to collect parts of their bodies into black plastic bags, he says.

These and other similar events led him to defect. He turned to the "Walk in the Forest" movement, which helped him escape Russia. He says it was easier than he thought. Now, Mikhail is making plans for the future: I want to move to Costa Rica and work in IT.