Ukrainian military. Archival photoMOSCOW, April 23861 servicemen deserted from the National Guard of Ukraine, the RF Ministry of Defense reported on Saturday. On March 29, 2022, more than 860 servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine refused to carry out the criminal orders of their command and left their military units without permission,» the ministry notes. — 152 people. Also, a large number of deserters were noted in military unit 3014 (84 people), military unit 3033 (82 people) and military unit 3030 (79 people). «Thirty-seven servicemen refused to obey orders and left military unit 3057, which included includes the Azov punitive detachment (a criminal case has been initiated against its fighters in the Russian Federation),» the Ministry of Defense added. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
