Alexander Klimenko, deputy head of the 199th training center of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, said forced mobilization, the information environment and the lack of inevitable punishment for desertion increase the risk of soldiers abandoning their units without permission.

According to Klimenko, forced mobilization, often referred to as «busification», is one of the factors that lowers motivation for military service and raises the likelihood of unauthorized departure.

He said soldiers are most vulnerable at three stages of training. The first covers the initial ten days of service. The second runs from day 11 to day 41. The third comes during the final ten days at the training center.

At the beginning, Klimenko noted, the decision to leave a unit is often impulsive and driven by an emotional reaction to a sudden change in environment. During the main phase of training, such decisions become more deliberate. He said they are shaped by fear of combat, the gap between expectations and actual service conditions, physical strain and accumulated psychological exhaustion.

The final stage, according to Klimenko, is seen by many soldiers as a last chance to avoid being sent to combat units. At that point, fear of direct participation in fighting, fatigue and the loss of the stability of the training environment intensify. As a result, the decision to leave the unit is usually more conscious.