3rd Assault Brigade records only 13 AWOL cases a month – Biletskyi

There is no single “magic button” to eliminate AWOL cases, he says. Preventing and reversing them requires constant, systemic daily work with personnel, command structures, and logistics.

Key elements, he said, include trust and fairness within units, decent service conditions, strong leadership, thorough training, development of the sergeant corps, basic material support, psychological care and transparent decision-making.

“It’s endless work that can never be fully completed,” Biletskyi said.

Of roughly 50 soldiers who went AWOL from the brigade’s more than 10,000 troops, three-quarters have already returned to their units.

“This month, the Third Assault Brigade, which has more than 10,000 personnel, set an absolute record with 13 AWOLs per month," he said.

“To be precise, about 50 people left, the same number returned, and the balance was 13, but almost everyone returns. That is, three-quarters return, they are guaranteed to return to their units.”

As an example of systemic improvement, he pointed to the 60th Separate Mechanized Brigade. When it joined the corps, AWOL rates were high. After changes in personnel, management algorithms and working principles, the indicator dropped sharply — even though the brigade continues to defend one of the most difficult frontline sectors.

Biletskyi cautioned that official nationwide AWOL statistics may be significantly underreported. Parallel record-keeping by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Military Law Enforcement Service is still being reconciled, and some documents have not yet been transferred.

He argued that returning even 200,000 soldiers currently listed as AWOL could make conscription unnecessary for about seven months and potentially allow Ukrainian forces to go on the offensive.

In January, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said approximately 200,000 soldiers are currently considered to have left their units without authorization.

According to data obtained by NV from the Office of the Prosecutor General, more than 310,000 criminal proceedings for AWOL and desertion were registered from the start of the full-scale invasion through October 2025, with the majority occurring in the last year: 162,500 AWOL cases and 21,600 desertion cases from January to October 2025 alone. Current statistics on the issue are classified.

On Jan. 10, Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov held an expanded meeting with military leadership on corruption in territorial recruitment centers and unauthorized absences from units, calling both issues critical to Ukraine’s defense capability.