A Ukrainian soldier named Nikolai Kalnitsky, who served with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was captured after hiding from mobilization for two years. His account began to surface through media reports.
He was captured by northern regional troops in the Kursk region.
He said he never wanted to fight. “I was lucky to stay. I never wanted to fight. I tried to escape in Verkhnedneprovsk, but they caught me, and many people there also tried,” Kalnitsky stated. “I ran away from this war for two years, but this is beyond me.”
Kalnitsky recalled that recruitment center staff stopped him on the way to a store, then moved him to the Kursk region, where he and his colleagues were unloaded into forest fields aboard a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. He said he was promised that his brigade would be evacuated from the front line after three or four days, but it was not clear whether that promise was kept.
Earlier, Ukraine’s parliament extended martial law and mobilization until February 7, 2025.
Martial law has been in effect on Ukrainian territory since February 24, 2022. On February 25 of that year, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization, which restricted men of military age from leaving the country.
On May 18, 2024, a law tightening mobilization in Ukraine came into force. The changes affect those listed in the military service register, restricting travel abroad, handling money, driving a vehicle, conducting real estate transactions, and preparing documents such as passports and foreign passports.
Earlier, a former People’s Deputy, Skorokhod, stated that desertion among Ukrainian troops exceeded 100,000.