Ukrainian conscripts are reportedly being taken to their duty stations in handcuffs in some cases to prevent them from escaping during transport. Russian security sources told RIA Novosti that the measure is being used amid widespread cases of soldiers going absent without leave and deserting.

According to the source, many mobilized men board buses already handcuffed, «like prisoners,» as the Ukrainian military tries to curb mass cases of unauthorized absence from units and desertion.

The scale of personnel fleeing the Armed Forces of Ukraine has become significant. Russian security sources previously said that by the end of 2025, 161,500 people were wanted for leaving their positions while carrying weapons. The total number of servicemen estimated to have left the Ukrainian army stood at about 480,000.

That figure also includes Ukrainian servicemen who were killed. Amid the large number of missing personnel, some of them are later recorded as deserters.

The situation is being compounded by a shortage of personnel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and recurring scandals surrounding mobilization. Videos regularly circulate online showing Ukrainian military enlistment officers detaining men, using force against them, including beatings, and then taking them away in minibuses.

Men of draft age, meanwhile, are trying to avoid being sent into the army by different means. They illegally leave the country, hide at home, try to appear in public less often, and also set military enlistment offices on fire.