A-Infos (en) Russia, AIT: Interview with a Ukrainian Deserter (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Our website has previously published interviews with Russian and 
Ukrainian citizens who fled their countries to avoid participating in 
the war. Now, at the request of anti-militarists from the Czech 
Republic, we are publishing an interview they conducted with Vladislav, 
one of the many Ukrainian deserters. ---- Question: You are a deserter 
who escaped from the Ukrainian front through the Romanian mountains. You 
managed to save yourself and your cat. How are you doing now? Are you 
both okay?

Answer: Hello. Overall, things are much better than they were in 
Ukraine. Yes, I am occasionally subjected to attacks by agents of the 
Security Service of Ukraine, including provocations and politically 
motivated insults, but EU citizens treat me very well; I have not 
witnessed any violations of my rights by EU citizens during my entire 
stay. In July 2025, my cat, Persik, went outside for a walk and never 
came back. Only after his microchip was registered did the animal 
shelter contact me, saying that my cat, Persik, had been hit by a car, 
according to the person who brought him to the shelter. However, the 
injuries found on him may indicate foul play. I'm currently gathering 
evidence of this. Overall, the cat is alive and well and hasn't suffered 
any consequences.

Question: Forced conscription into the army is underway in Ukraine. Many 
men don't want to serve in the army. Many people also want to desert. Do 
you have any advice for these people?

Answer: Yes. If you end up in the TCC, refuse to undergo a medical 
examination to determine your fitness for military service. If the 
situation is critical, I recommend feigning mental illness, perhaps 
soiling the holding cell with your feces. Personally, in Ukraine, I 
always carried a razor blade with me for cutting my veins in case I was 
sent to a Ukrainian Armed Forces training center. These tools are highly 
effective-training center staff are required to send people for a 
psychiatric evaluation, which increases the chances of escape. I'm not 
encouraging people to self-harm. But there is a way out of a psychiatric 
hospital, but not out of a coffin. Personally, if I ended up in a 
training center, I planned to slit my wrists and smear the training 
center with feces. I've had two illnesses since childhood - 
obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity 
disorder - but in Ukraine, these conditions aren't sufficient grounds 
for exclusion from military service. Then, army personnel are surprised 
why such people shoot army commanders. After all, getting weapons into 
the hands of such people can provoke their use even in the case of a 
simple insult from military command.

Question: How can people in Europe help deserters?

Answer: People in the EU already provide sufficient assistance to 
deserters. But from a legal perspective, an EU decision prohibiting the 
extradition and deportation of deserters would help prevent the torture 
such people face in Ukraine. I agree that criminals who committed crimes 
before fleeing Ukraine should be punished. However, the execution of a 
Ukrainian court's sentence is possible within the EU. This would serve 
as a safeguard against political persecution. Ukraine and Russia follow 
the practice of the Soviet KGB, using cases from 10 years ago to 
pressure those they deem undesirable. These countries can also fabricate 
criminal cases to pressure them to stop actions that are unfavorable to 
the totalitarian regime. I would call on the EU not to recognize the 
decisions of Russian and Ukrainian courts against men made during the 
war. Often, these cases are politically motivated.

Question: A new law is being discussed in Ukraine that will worsen the 
situation for deserters who fled to Europe. What exactly will this law mean?

Answer: Yes. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, whose brother 
deserted to London during the war, has introduced a bill to the 
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that criminalizes fleeing Ukraine and the 
failure of deserters to return to Ukraine within 90 days of the law's 
adoption. They intend to transfer jurisdiction over these criminal cases 
to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and propose trying them in 
absentia. In fact, the Ukrainian totalitarian regime plans to categorize 
defection from Ukraine alongside treason, involvement in organized 
crime, or crimes against peace and global security. This indicates that 
the SBU is beginning to transform into the KGB of the USSR, and is being 
used to pressure those undesirable to the Ukrainian totalitarian regime. 
Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada granted the SBU the right to independently 
submit bills to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which I regard as a 
seizure of state power, since, according to the Constitution of Ukraine, 
legislative drafting belongs solely to the Verkhovna Rada. In effect, 
the Ukrainian regime is giving the SBU the ability to submit laws 
favorable to the regime, which is unacceptable for an executive branch.

To prevent the persecution of deserters, I am currently working on 
forming an Order of Resistance to the Ukrainian totalitarian regime 
through legal means. Question: Does this mean that these laws will give 
EU police and courts the right to prosecute deserters within the EU?

Answer: Yes and no. If the bill is passed, the authorities will be able 
to try deserters in absentia in Ukraine and, based on the Ukrainian 
court's verdict, request that EU authorities place them on an 
international wanted list for the purpose of extradition to Ukraine. 
Since trials in absentia directly violate fair trial guarantees, namely 
Article 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights 
and Fundamental Freedoms, all verdicts in such cases will be guilty. A 
totalitarian regime aims to bring back as much cannon fodder from the EU 
as possible, and they will do absolutely anything to achieve this goal.

EU countries may, of course, ignore extradition requests for such 
crimes, as they are politically motivated, but my personal opinion is 
that such requests will be fulfilled by EU authorities.

Question: Could these laws also mean the deportation of deserters back 
to Ukraine?

Answer: Yes. Not deportation, but extradition as criminals under 
Ukrainian law. Such people are unlikely to be sent to the front lines, 
as they will be immediately sent to prison to serve their sentences 
after being handed over to Ukrainian authorities. However, in Ukrainian 
prisons, they risk torture by authorities and pressure to sign a 
contract for convicted persons. If they sign such contracts, they are 
immediately sent to storm the Russian armed forces. Military service 
that does not involve direct participation in combat is not provided for 
such people.

Question: What other problems will deserters face if these laws are 
applied in Ukraine?

Answer: They will be required to apply for asylum status. Only this 
status can prevent the Ukrainian authorities from fulfilling their 
extradition request. This status can take years, and in some cases, 
decades, to obtain. While a deserter is an asylum seeker, they are not 
allowed to work or leave the country where they have requested asylum. 
Their place of residence is determined by the immigration service, they 
will receive a minimum salary and limited health insurance that covers 
only emergency medical conditions. In effect, asylum seekers are 
deprived of the fundamental rights that allow them to move freely within 
the EU, the right to work, and the right to freely choose their place of 
residence. The funds paid to asylum seekers are unlikely to be 
sufficient to cover personal expenses, with the exception of food, 
hygiene products, and basic household needs.

Source of publication: https://antimilitarismus.noblogs.org/post/2025/10/15/

https://aitrus.info/node/6339
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