"Gift of Fate": How military personnel travel to Sochi during overseas exercises and who faces penalties for this.

“Opportunities to escape are always present”

Two servicemen, who wished to remain anonymous, shared their experiences from training in Poland. Both were transported by bus from Ukrainian bases to the border with Poland, which they crossed on foot. On the Polish side, partners greeted them and took them to training bases. The return process was similar.

“The conditions are civilized; generally, you cannot leave the base, but there are some days for excursions or centralized trips to the store. I speak English well and can communicate with the instructors. They trusted me, so I was allowed to go for a walk in the city on weekends,” shares Anton (name changed).

He adds: “There are always opportunities to escape if you really want to.” According to Anton, it is usually the recruits who leave the service without permission, particularly those who come to the basic training course abroad: “They are scared, so they run as soon as the chance arises.”

Another serviceman, Nazar (name changed), states that his group had no territorial restrictions, allowing them to visit Warsaw or Krakow. During weekdays, they were allowed out in the evenings, and on Saturdays after 10 AM.

“None of ours ran away, even though there were opportunities. You could sit in Gdansk, sail to Sweden — and goodbye. The Swedes wouldn’t hand you over. Maybe we are just like that, or maybe the command was fantastic, but no one from our group escaped,” Nazar recounts.

He notes that his peers who trained with the British or Germans had stricter conditions, as they were not allowed to leave the base.

For instance, a third serviceman who trained in the UK reported that each unit, consisting of 20 people, was led by two commanders — one Ukrainian and one foreigner. Leaving the training center was prohibited, and during excursions, the groups were under the supervision of their commanders.

“A gift from fate”

On the social media platform X, a user with the nickname “Bovtik,” who identifies as a serviceman, shared his story of escape while in Poland. His posts garnered tens of thousands of views. The young man does not reveal his real name or place of service but claims to have been a combat medic.

According to him, he signed a contract a year and a half before the full-scale war “not out of a good life.” He allegedly fought in battles in Severodonetsk and Bakhmut. However, in 2023, he states that patriotism turned into fatigue and despair, leading to a desire to leave the service.

Initially, the man considered escaping through the mountains during leave but eventually discarded that idea. Soon, he had the opportunity to attend training in the UK:

Upon arriving in Poland, during a layover, he discarded his SIM cards, deleted data from messaging apps, and after registering, retrieved his passport, called a taxi, and disappeared. Before heading further to Sweden, he allegedly filed for refugee status in Canada through a website.

In a comment to hromadske, the young man mentioned that with the help of acquaintances, he managed to fly to another continent. There, he waited nearly three months for a decision regarding his refugee status and to ensure he was not at risk of extradition. Ultimately, everything concluded successfully for him. Meanwhile, his former girlfriend and neighbors in Ukraine were interrogated by law enforcement.

We cannot independently verify the authenticity of this story. The young man claims to have crossed the border into Poland in 2023 while part of the 3rd border detachment. Hromadske submitted a request to this unit to find out if similar cases had occurred.

“Law enforcement may not even search”

The Military Law Enforcement Service declined to provide hromadske with information on the number of cases of unauthorized absences during training abroad. However, they noted that representatives of the Military Law Enforcement Service are present in partner countries during training to ensure discipline.

Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Military Law Enforcement Service, Alexander Grinchuk, pointed out that the service, in response to unauthorized absences, works in conjunction with military police or gendarmerie of partner countries. If a serviceman is found by foreign law enforcement, they are returned to their unit. However, this does not always happen.

“Different countries have different laws. In some, unauthorized departure from the unit is not considered a criminal offense. Law enforcement in those states may not search for a serviceman because it qualifies as an administrative violation,” explains Grinchuk.

At the same time, the Ministry of Justice stated in response to hromadske that since the onset of the major war, they have not approached foreign states regarding the extradition of Ukrainian servicemen suspected of desertion or unauthorized departure from their military unit. The Office of the Prosecutor General indicated that they do not collect such information.

Who will be held accountable?

The Main Directorate of Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine insists that only the most qualified servicemen are sent for training abroad. Experienced officers or sergeants are appointed as leaders of the groups to ensure discipline. Additionally, psychological selection is conducted prior to deployment, and servicemen previously caught illegally crossing borders are not allowed to participate in training.

At the same time, the responsibility for controlling servicemen rests with the commander. It is their duty to prevent violations by subordinates. Failure to fulfill these responsibilities can result in administrative and disciplinary penalties.

Interestingly, the commander of the 155th brigade, Dmitry Ryumshin, was removed from his position shortly after the brigade engaged in combat. This occurred because a commission from the Command of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine concluded that he was guilty of the escape of 50 servicemen in France, as noted by Yuri Butusov.

In the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it was added that the control over servicemen during their transition abroad and training is also entrusted to senior group leaders and senior representatives from the units.

How are commanders punished when their subordinates desert?

In such cases, fines may be imposed ranging from 17,000 to 34,000 hryvnias. Alternatively, they may face detention in the guardhouse for up to 15 days.

In November 2024, a court in the Zhytomyr region sentenced the commander of a reserve company, Maxim Gavrilko, to 10 days in the guardhouse. A week and a half later, six of his subordinates deserted, leading to the commander being found guilty of inadequate educational work. However, he is currently contesting this decision.

Conversely, in December 2024, a court in the Rivne region dismissed the case against the company commander, Vladimir Sverdana. He was accused of negligence, which resulted in 16 desertions within eight days.

The commander partially admitted his guilt, explaining that he had 280 personnel under his command, most of whom returned from desertion and were demotivated. The court took into account that Sverdana could not objectively monitor everyone, and thus dropped the case.