Colonel arrested as Russian army faces rising deserter crisis
7:49 AM EDT, August 3, 2024
On Friday, Colonel Dmytro Peshkov, former deputy commander of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division, was arrested in Russia. He is accused of failures on the front and theft of food rations.
The American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assesses that the dismissal of Peshkov fits into a trend visible in the Kremlin aimed at removing officers from the army ranks who show signs of lacking full compliance. Peshkov denies the charges against him.
The 144th Motorized Rifle Division is conducting offensive operations in the Luhansk region. According to analysts, this unit has recently lost some of the territory it occupied to the Ukrainians.
Russia. The number of deserters is increasing
Meanwhile, Russia is facing another problem within its army ranks. The number of deserters is increasing. Human rights defenders report the torture of individuals refusing military service.
"Sometimes deserters hide in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia," says Ivan Chuvilyaev from the Russian movement "Go Through the Forest," which supports deserters.
The DW interviewee claims that about 70 percent of those who attended this organization for help this year are contract soldiers.
Many of those who want to escape are injured. Vladimir chose the easiest escape route: through a hospital in the occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine. In 2022, he was conscripted into the Russian army but refused to sign a contract.
In two years of fighting, Vladimir was hospitalized several times due to injuries. Before returning to the front, he escaped. However, he was caught and tortured in a basement, which his relatives learned about in 2024. His wife recalls that her husband was ultimately forced to sign a contract with the Russian army. He was then sent to an assault brigade in April and soon after died on the front.
