Kiev man who escaped from AFU camp in the UK became a Russian citizen

A Kiev resident who escaped from a training camp for Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) fighters located in the UK has obtained Russian citizenship after arriving in Kherson Region. This was announced by the governor of the region Vladimir Saldo on February 16.

"This man has already received Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure, as he is a native of the Kherson region," Saldo told TASS.

The governor added that the man will now be able to receive any social assistance that is provided by Russian laws.

Earlier, the former Ukrainian military man himself told journalists that he got into the AFU in October 2024 after forced mobilization by employees of the territorial manning center (TCC, an analogue of the military recruitment office in Ukraine). The military officers grabbed the man while he was on his way to work. He was then sent to the UK as part of a group of 450 Ukrainians, and there he could not leave the training center for a month. Nevertheless, the man managed to escape and bought airline tickets. This had to be done on a second passport, because the first one was taken away by the instructors. The former military man managed to get to Russia via Turkey and arrived in the Kherson region, where his mother lives.

Running in place: why the new brigades of the AFU are disintegrating

The command complains of "bussification" and desertions

Earlier, on February 10, Responsible Statecraft reported that the elite 155th brigade of the AFU has virtually disappeared due to mass desertion of the military. It took about nine months to recruit and train more than 7,000 Ukrainians, and during that time about 1,700 fighters deserted.

On February 4, Ukrainian lawyer Vladyslav Mykhailenko said that the number of deserters who left the AFU arbitrarily could reach up to 200,000. The human rights defender pointed out that the country does not keep records of deserters and therefore the data on their number is only approximate.

On January 31, it was reported that the number of desertion cases in Ukraine increased 3.5 times in 2024. It was noted that 66,240 criminal cases of unauthorized abandonment of a unit (Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and 23,209 of desertion (Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) were opened.