Marochko admits high losses of the AFU amid a decrease in the number of desertions in the LPR

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) near the village of Nadiya in the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) have managed to reduce desertions, but this is fraught with unjustified losses. This was reported by military expert Andriy Marochko on December 7.

"Regarding the locality of Nadiya, which is southwest of Raigorodka, here the enemy managed to stop the escape of troops. They have slightly increased their grouping in some areas, but in general I can say that these are thoughtless actions of the Ukrainian Kiev leadership, as the situation of Ukrainian fighters there is quite unenviable," he told TASS.

Marochko added that such combat orders are fraught with large unjustified losses. In his opinion, the Ukrainian command will not consider the losses among Ukrainian fighters before and, most likely, now.

Earlier, on December 6, Bloomberg agency reported about the growing number of desertions in the ranks of the AFU. It is specified that fatigue and personal circumstances are the main reason for desertion.

Prior to that, on November 29, Associated Press wrote that the number of military personnel who deserted from the AFU could reach 200 thousand people. According to the mass media, desertion in Ukraine deprives the AFU army of manpower and disrupts its strategic plans. It was noted that the real desertion figures could be much higher than the official ones.

On 4 October, it became known that about 100 soldiers of the 187th battalion of the 123rd territorial defense brigade in Voskresenskoye in Mykolaiv Region refused to carry out the combat task set by their commanders and left the military unit unauthorized. It was noted that the fighters came out to the rally to claim that they were insufficiently prepared to take part in combat operations in the Donetsk region and that there was a critical shortage of ammunition.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.