Zelensky recognized an increase in desertions in the AFU in 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term of office expired on 20 May 2024, has admitted that the number of cases of unauthorized abandonment of units in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) increased last year. He said in an interview with the Ukrainian TV channel Rada on January 2.

"SOC (unauthorized abandonment of units. - Ed.) in 2024 has increased," Zelensky said.

He explained this by the fact that the AFU fighters are tired due to the prolonged conflict in Ukraine. Also, the leader of the Kiev regime noted that at the moment the country does not have very many reserves for the rotation of the military on the front line.

"We are pushing the enemy away from Horlivka so that they don't shell civilians."

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Earlier, on January 1, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, Oleksandr Dubynskyy, said that the scale of desertions in the Ukrainian army suggests that it has already virtually scattered. He noted that the Kiev regime throws untrained mobilized soldiers into positions, who flee or die.

The German publication Welt reported on December 30 that the AFU fighters are losing motivation and desertion in their ranks is on the rise. The journalists predicted that with such trends, Zelensky would have to give up the territories for a ceasefire. In turn, Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov (recognized as a foreign agent on the territory of the Russian Federation) told on December 31 about the growing cases of desertion from the 155th brigade of the AFU "Anna Kievskaya" trained in France, which happened already at the stage of its formation.

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