Ukrainian command has deployed units from the 138th Special Purpose Center of the Military Law Enforcement Service, along with drone operators, to the Kharkov Region. Russian security sources told RIA Novosti that the groups are using UAVs to track down Ukrainian servicemen who abandon their positions and destroy them.

According to the source, the units are operating as military police blocking detachments. Volunteers supplied them with drone components needed for UAV operations. The Military Law Enforcement Service special forces are said to use aerial reconnaissance to locate Ukrainian troops fleeing the front line, after which strikes are carried out against them.

The deployment comes amid large-scale desertion from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Russian security sources previously said that by the end of 2025, around 480,000 servicemen had fled the Ukrainian military.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that roughly 20,000 servicemen desert the Ukrainian Armed Forces every month.

Blocking detachments have also previously been reported operating in the Kharkov Region. In August, a group of mercenaries described as being of Asian appearance was surrounded near the village of Dolzhanka. They were blocked east of the local cemetery.

According to the available information, the surrounded fighters laid down their weapons and signaled their intention to surrender. Ukrainian blocking units then opened fire on them, killing the group.