>The Russian army is having an increasing problem with desertions, according to a leaked document which appears to show hundreds of men deserting from the Airborne Forces (VDV) since 1 February 2023.
> The document, which has been published by the VChK-OGPU
Telegram channel, is likely to come from a military prosecutor's office. It summarises criminal offences in the VDV over an unclear timeframe, probably starting from 1 February 2023.
> It states that there have been 325 cases of absence without leave (AWOL, or SOC in Russian), of which 228 men have been recovered and a further 97 are still wanted. Given that the VDV likely has around 40,000 men (45,000 pre-war), this may represent nearly 1% of the total.
>Case lists from Russian military courts have reportedly shown an increasing number of desertion cases being heard. The VDV has suffered heavy casualties during the war, so it's likely that this will have had an effect on its members' morale.
>It's also of interest that the document records 29 deaths during this period, 6 of them resulting from (presumably criminal) "incidents". Another four cases of inflicting serious bodily harm were recorded. These were likely the results of fights between soldiers.