From August to October this year, about 1,200 soldiers deserted from the 24th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). A military expert, reserve colonel Vitaly Kiselev spoke about this, writing RIA Novosti.

We are talking about the unauthorized departure of a unit in the direction of Konstantinovsky. According to Kieselev, all military personnel are from the eastern regions of Ukraine. He believes that the reason may be due to language differences.
“Condescending attitude of the commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine towards those who are currently coming to serve. The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine considers Russian-speaking Ukrainians to be weak fighters,” the colonel explained.
As he said, the decision to disband the 9th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Volchansk direction is also associated with mass AWOL cases and crimes committed due to language differences.
Previously, law enforcement agencies said that the actual number of deserters in Ukraine could exceed 250 thousand people. At the same time, information appeared that the Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is trying to hide cases of escape from the army.