Romanticizing desertion as a "rational choice" and the delegitimation of military discipline

What it claims

Unauthorized absence (UA) is portrayed as the only rational survival strategy, allegedly guaranteeing impunity due to the government's inability to track offenders. Manipulators use fabricated statistics of "800,000 deserters" and isolated management errors to convince soldiers that death at the front is inevitable while desertion is safe.

Target audience

Examples (paraphrased)

We paraphrase rather than quote: propaganda's exact wording is built to spread, so we carry the claim and not the craft. Each example cites the post it came from.

• The command uses soldiers as disposable props for PR shots, so the only way to save oneself is to go AWOL, as the authorities lack the resources to search for them.

  MediaKiller, 20 Jul 2026 · Archived copy

• There are already about a million deserters in Ukraine living normal lives, and the state's attempts to bring them back through recruitment centers are a trap.

  Женщина с косой, 7 Jul 2026 · Archived copy

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Goal

To demoralize AFU personnel, stimulate mass desertion, and undermine trust in military command and the law enforcement system.

Techniques used

• Appeal to Fear / PrejudicePromoting the thesis of a choice between "guaranteed death" at the front and a "safe life" in the rear as a deserter.
• Loaded LanguageUsing epithets like "sadistic commanders", "careerists", and describing the war as a "performance" to devalue the military oath.

The real grievance it exploits

Genuine exhaustion of service members from prolonged combat, delays in rotations, and fear of death or the incompetence of specific commanders.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: Propaganda uses the "voting with feet" tactic to create a false impression of total loss of army control, ignoring the hundreds of thousands who continue to serve.
• Reframe: The state introduces mechanisms for voluntary return to units not out of "weakness", but to preserve human capital and offer a chance to correct a mistake without a criminal record.

Sources (all time)

• ЛегитимныйTier 11,026,169 subscribers
  2 posts · 26–27 Jul 2026

  • 27 Jul · t.me/legitimniy/22896
  • 26 Jul · t.me/legitimniy/22892
• FREE KHERSONTier 39,570 subscribers
  4 posts · 4–28 Jul 2026

  • 28 Jul · t.me/free_kherson_z/17475
  • 10 Jul · t.me/free_kherson_z/17127
  • 4 Jul · t.me/free_kherson_z/16974
  • 4 Jul · t.me/free_kherson_z/16967
• MediaKillerTier 1103,222 subscribers
  3 posts · 27 Jun – 20 Jul 2026

  • 20 Jul · Archived copy
  • 28 Jun · t.me/MediaKiller2021/23432
  • 27 Jun · t.me/MediaKiller2021/23429
• Анатолий ШарийTier 11,664,550 subscribers
  1 post · 24 Jun 2026

  • 24 Jun · t.me/ASupersharij/56286
• Open Ukraine| Открытая УкраинаTier 1181,484 subscribers
  1 post · 1 Aug 2026

  • 1 Aug · t.me/OpenUkraine/100829
• ЗеРадаTier 1424,887 subscribers
  1 post · 3 Jul 2026

  • 3 Jul · t.me/ZeRada1/31251
• РезидентTier 1903,549 subscribers
  1 post · 1 Jul 2026

  • 1 Jul · t.me/rezident_ua/29855
• Женщина с косойTier 1106,483 subscribers
  23 posts · 6 Jun – 5 Aug 2026

  • 5 Aug · t.me/skosoi/9987
  • 2 Aug · t.me/skosoi/9957
  • 31 Jul · t.me/skosoi/9944
  • 19 Jul · t.me/skosoi/9850
  • 14 Jul · t.me/skosoi/9813
  • 13 Jul · t.me/skosoi/9808
  • 13 Jul · t.me/skosoi/9805
  • 8 Jul · t.me/skosoi/9770
  • 7 Jul · Archived copy
  • 3 Jul · t.me/skosoi/9736
  • +13 more
• Украина. Спецоперация. Мониторинг СВОTier 115,817 subscribers
  1 post · 18 Jun 2026

  • 18 Jun · t.me/MonitoringUA/92469