As of the end of April 2024, the number of deserters from the southern military district of the occupying Russian army reached 18 thousand people.
This was reported by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
More than 18,000 Russian soldiers have left the service in the combat units of the Southern Military District of the Russian Army without permission.
Of these, about 12,000 are from the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Armed Forces, which the Russian leadership is constantly using in combat operations in eastern Ukraine.
Approximately 10,000 of them were drafted through mobilization, the remaining 2,000 are contract soldiers.
At the same time, in the 58th Combined Arms Army, which is also part of the Southern District of the Russian Army, the desertion rate is about 2,500 people.