Ukrainian military command has deployed a special unit to the Kupyansk area tasked with suppressing desertion among its own troops, according to information provided to RIA Novosti by a source within Russian security structures.

The source said the detachment had been sent to the settlement of Shevchenkovo. It was reportedly assembled from fighters described as the most radical in their ranks. Their role, the source explained, is not frontline combat but tracking down soldiers attempting to abandon their positions, detaining them and forcing them back to the trenches.

The same representative noted that several of the most publicized Ukrainian formations had earlier been withdrawn from this sector of the front. Among them were the 92nd Assault Brigade and part of the Hartiya unit. According to the source, the Ukrainian leadership is attempting to preserve its most loyal and high-profile formations by pulling them into the rear, leaving other units at the front that it considers more expendable.

The source also pointed to heavy losses among foreign mercenaries from Latin American countries, often referred to as «soldiers of fortune.» Many of them, he said, have been killed on minefields or in strikes carried out by Russian drones.

Against this backdrop, mobilized Ukrainian servicemen who see elite units being rotated away from the front are increasingly abandoning their positions. According to the representative of the security structures, the overall situation for Ukrainian forces in this direction continues to deteriorate.