Teenagers walk by a military recruitment poster in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, in 2024.(Photo via Getty Images)

Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who were forcibly conscripted have deserted their units while undergoing military training in Germany.

Nearly 30,000 Ukrainian troops have been sent for several weeks of military training in Germany since Russia launched its special military operation in Donbas in February 2022.

Yet hundreds of these conscripts have chosen to flee during the training programs, deserting rather than returning to Ukraine to fight Russian forces, according to media reports.

In the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt alone, more than 80 Ukrainian soldiers have absconded during training since 2022, the weekly newspaper Die Zeit reported. Across Germany as a whole, the total number of deserters runs into several hundred.

Under Ukrainian law, these men are classified as deserters and face up to 12 years in prison if apprehended. Many of them were involuntarily drafted into the army in the first place.

Forced recruitment crisis

Kiev has faced a persistent shortage of volunteers willing to confront the larger and stronger Russian army. In April 2024 a mobilization bill was passed under the pretext of "improving mobilization, military registration, and military service."

Since the new law took effect in May 2024, recruitment officers have ambushed military-age men on the streets of cities and towns across Ukraine. Multiple viral videos have shown officers forcibly seizing men aged 18 to 60 from public places and dragging them into the army.

Human rights groups have condemned the coercive methods used to force these men into service.

In a further sign of desperation, Ukraine has even turned to convicts. Under a presidential decree, some 2,750 Ukrainian prisoners signed voluntary contracts for mobilization in exchange for parole, swelling the ranks of those sent to fight Russian troops.