00:00Mission after mission, deployment after deployment, you start seeing the bigger picture.
00:06You realize there's no end of the war in sight.
00:10Over four years into the war, Ukraine is struggling, not least to recruit new soldiers.
00:16The Defense Ministry has counted around 200,000 troops who have left their units without authorization.
00:23Many have said they're exhausted. Others point to the lack of any clear path to end the war.
00:28Some have criticized what they've called aggressive recruitment tactics for the front line.
00:34Are Ukraine's armed forces losing soldiers faster than they can replace them?
00:41We headed to Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.
00:47There, we met Sergei Nezdilov, a member of a drone unit.
00:51Two years ago, he made headlines when he left his unit without authorization and publicly explained why.
01:00At 19, I put my civilian life on hold. I really wanted to know when I'd be able to get
01:06back to it.
01:10When Nezdilov joined the army in 2019, he signed a three-year contract.
01:16Just before his service was supposed to end, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
01:22Nezdilov had to stay and keep fighting.
01:25In September 2024, he went public with his frustration.
01:30In a social media post, he explained his reasoning.
01:32He argued that every Ukrainian should contribute to the country's defense,
01:36and that even in wartime, soldiers deserve to know when they can expect a return to civilian life.
01:44For some reason, the country is relying only on the people who volunteered,
01:49who joined the military and are still willing to fight for some kind of short-lived victory.
01:54I said I was in one of the most discriminated against groups in Ukrainian society,
01:59effectively pushed out of society.
02:03Ukraine's military leadership is well aware of the strain on troop numbers.
02:07Defense Minister Fedorov has promised improvements.
02:12We need to do our homework and solve problems.
02:15I've taken over the defense ministry, and we're facing a shortfall of about 300 billion euros.
02:20We have two million missing Ukrainians and 200,000 soldiers absent without leave.
02:32Outdated structures and a lack of trust in military leadership were the reasons Anatoly ultimately left the army.
02:42It's the same all over. They don't care about soldiers.
02:45All they care about are their ranks and their money.
02:51Anatoly spent several years in the infantry, fighting in places like Bakhmut.
02:57He says his unit was reassigned. According to him, his commanders sent him home on leave to recover and decompress.
03:08A month later they sent me all my documents, passport, military ID.
03:14Suddenly I was listed as AWOL.
03:16They were supposed to send me money for the leave.
03:20They sent those documents. That was it.
03:22No one saw anything.
03:24No one saw anything.
03:27But frustrations like these are only part of the problem.
03:31Many people associate Ukraine's mobilization effort with images like these.
03:36Soldiers forcibly taking civilian men off the streets and sending them to military service.
03:46Olesh says scenes like this hurt morale.
03:50Any early belief that individual efforts could influence the course of the war has long faded.
03:56Mission after mission, deployment after deployment, you start seeing the bigger picture.
04:07You realize there's no end in sight.
04:11Your own efforts don't have the slightest impact on the overall course of this war.
04:24Olesh is 30 years old and became a father just a few months ago.
04:29He'd spent years serving in an engineering battalion, clearing mines and building defensive positions.
04:35Work that helped keep soldiers safe.
04:40Then news came from the guys there.
04:43A message arrived saying the unit would be split up and people sent to certain infantry brigades.
04:50They named them.
04:52They were brigades that had heavy casualties and bad reputations.
04:58Olesh was assigned to the front.
05:00Most of the men in his unit had never completed basic military training.
05:05Very few had any combat experience.
05:10We were to leave for a new brigade that evening.
05:12We looked at each other.
05:14I understood that probably few of us would actually make it to Somi.
05:18Those of us with vehicles drove off to wherever we could.
05:21So the army didn't gain any infantrymen, but it lost many engineers.
05:31Olesh left his unit without authorization and faced no consequences.
05:35He took advantage of a loophole that has since been closed, transferring elsewhere within the military.
05:42Today, he handles administrative duties from an office.
05:46For him and over a million Ukrainian soldiers, the fight against the Russian aggressor continues.
05:52For now, though, the end is nowhere in sight.
05:55The next one is not a way to get the rest.
05:55And now we're all in sight.
05:57It's not quite all in sight.
05:58The bullying is not a way to get the rest.
06:01Even though we're all in our lives.
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