On the first day of Russia¡¯s full-scale invasion, Roman Solomonyuk shocked his family when he volunteered to fight. But over two-and-a-half years later, he¡¯s joined the growing number of Ukrainian soldiers who¡¯ve called it quits.
First the 45-year-old dug trenches near the Russian border. Later, he shot down deadly Shahed drones. But then Roman fell out with a heavy-handed officer ¡ª and he¡¯s now officially wanted for leaving his unit without permission.
Since 2022, Ukraine opened nearly 96,000 criminal cases against servicemen who abandoned their positions since Russia¡¯s invasion, according to data from the prosecutor general¡¯s office. That represents a sixfold increase over the past two years, and most of the cases were opened this year.
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