"Survives minimum": Russian deserters told about the great losses of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine - WP

"The time comes, and at some point people understand how scary it is and how heavy the loss is. According to him, many of his comrades were killed because they did not know how to use their weapons and military equipment. However, most die during the storms, as commanders never order to retreat until the losses become too high. "The minimum survives," Igor said.

The material states that Igor cannot explain why he did not escape from Russia immediately when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his mobilization in September 2022. "I was sent a summons to the army, and you just go without thinking," the deserter said. Another Russian Alexei, who joined the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, signed the contract in 2017, was guided by financial benefits. He never thought he would have to fight.

"When the war began, no one asked you what you wanted - everything happened very quickly. There was neither time nor the opportunity to think and realize what was happening. We were literally gathered and put on the plane for a day," he said. He believes that the war with Ukraine is not needed. "The only threat to Russia is its current domestic policy, and it is a threat to both people within the country and abroad," he said.

Alexei served as an artillery man when the occupiers' army was in the Kharkiv region. He returned home on vacation, but refused to return to the war. He wanted to terminate the contract, but the mobilization order continued all contracts indefinitely. He was sentenced to imprisonment for refusing to return to the war in Ukraine, and therefore Alexei decided to escape from the Russian Federation.