Ukrainian soldiers use training in Germany to desert
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Around 80 Ukrainian soldiers have deserted while undergoing military training in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt since 2022, with cases across Germany estimated in the hundreds, Die Zeit reported on Aug. 20.
The soldiers had been sent to Germany for training to fight Russia, but they left the training grounds unauthorized to avoid returning to Ukraine.
The report comes as Ukraine struggles with a worsening manpower shortage after more than four years of full-scale war, increasingly relying on mobilized recruits as the pool of volunteers shrinks.
More than 25,000 Ukrainian soldiers had undergone military training in Germany by early 2026, according to the Bundeswehr.
Germany provides training as part of the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine (EUMAM UA), launched in 2022. By early 2026, 22 participating European countries had trained around 87,000 Ukrainian soldiers. The training includes instruction in operating military equipment, weapons handling, camouflage, and first aid.
Die Zeit reported that most soldiers who deserted had been mobilized for military service rather than volunteered. Some reportedly used their deployment to the Altengrabow military training area in Saxony-Anhalt as an opportunity to leave their units and remain in Germany.
Under Ukrainian law, leaving a military unit with the intention of avoiding service can be prosecuted as desertion. During martial law, desertion can carry a prison sentence of up to 12 years.
The soldiers also face an uncertain legal status in Germany.
Having been sent to Germany officially by the Ukrainian government, they are not considered displaced people and therefore not eligible for temporary protection under Section 24 of Germany's Residence Act, according to Die Zeit.
The EU formally agreed in July to renew temporary protection for 4.4 million Ukrainian refugees for another year, while Germany and other EU countries have also moved to tighten rules for newly arriving Ukrainian men of military age, aged 23 to 60.
Berlin and Kyiv are also discussing ways to encourage, and potentially pressure, Ukrainian men living in Germany to return to Ukraine, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev said on July 3.
