Number of AWOL and desertion proceedings surged in 2025 – Prosecutor General’s Office. DOCUMENT
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, law enforcement officers have registered more than 310,000 criminal cases of AWOL and desertion. Most of which occurred within the first ten months of 2025.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General in response to a request from NV, according to Censor.NET.
Details
A total of 255,000 cases were initiated over AWOL and another 56,200 over desertion, amounting to 311,327 criminal proceedings in total.
Between January and October 2025 alone, 162,500 AWOL cases were registered, 9,000 individuals were served with suspicion notices, and nearly 7,700 cases were sent to court.
In the first ten months of this year alone, nearly 21,600 criminal cases were initiated under the article on desertion. Suspicion notices were served to 318 individuals, and 195 cases were sent to court.
At the same time, from 2022 to 2024, law enforcement initiated fewer AWOL and desertion cases than in the incomplete year of 2025 alone.
In 2024, 67,800 AWOL cases (and 23,300 for desertion); in 2023 — 17,600 (7,800 for desertion); in 2022 — only 6,600 (3,400 for desertion).
Background
Earlier, former MP and commander of a strike UAV unit Ihor Lutsenko stated that, according to official data, more than 21,000 service members went AWOL in October 2025 alone.
