Ukrainian military commanders have reportedly introduced harsher measures against soldiers attempting to abandon their positions near Orekhov in the Zaporozhye region, according to military expert Andrey Marochko.

Marochko claimed that Ukrainian troops had been authorized to kill fellow servicemen caught attempting to desert their positions.

According to the analyst, there have been confirmed cases of severe punishment for unauthorized withdrawals from frontline positions in the Orekhov sector. He alleged that special punitive detachments operate in the area and resort to killing soldiers who flee their posts as an extreme measure.

Marochko had previously reported that the situation facing Ukrainian units defending Orekhov was becoming increasingly difficult.

He claimed that following the loss of Timoshevka, Ukrainian commanders were forced to reduce the number of troops assigned to defend the city. According to the expert, the decision was intended to prevent Russian forces from making a rapid advance.

The analyst also maintained that Ukrainian defensive positions around Orekhov were weakening daily under mounting pressure from advancing Russian troops.

His latest allegations suggest that, alongside the deteriorating battlefield situation he has described, Ukrainian servicemen in the Orekhov sector are facing increasingly severe measures aimed at preventing desertion.