Lawyer announced how many Armed Forces soldiers could have gone AWOL.

The Ukrainian army faces a critical issue – the number of cases of unauthorized absence from the military unit (AWOL) has increased. This was stated by military lawyer Roman Lykhachov from the Center for Veterans and Their Families Support.

According to Lykhachov, since the beginning of 2022, more than 100,000 soldiers have committed AWOL. It is worth noting that the scale of this problem is much higher than the official data suggests. Many criminal cases involve a large number of individuals, complicating the investigation process. Lykhachov noted that the State Bureau of Investigations does not have sufficient resources to effectively handle such a large number of cases.

The lawyer also mentioned the issue of returning soldiers to the Armed Forces after unauthorized absence. Many of them express a desire to return to service but are held back by the fear of recurring conflict situations that were the cause of the AWOL, as well as the horror of ending up in penal units.

Previously, the Rada passed a law that exempts soldiers from liability for AWOL, but under certain conditions.