According to Mediazona, in March 2024, russian military courts sentenced a record high 684 members of the armed forces of russia for desertion. The total number of cases since partial mobilization in September 2022 is 7,400, with the Moscow area receiving the highest number of cases at 496, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
Many of the soldiers who have been tracked down and appear in military court are given suspended sentences, returned to their units and to the frontlines. At the same time, asylum requests in Western nations from russian nationals avoiding military service have reached record levels.
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Russian soldiers, including those forcibly recruited during the September 2022 partial mobilization, are required to remain in military service indefinitely, with little prospect of release.
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