WORLD WORLDWIDE RUSSIA - news journal UPDATE - (en) Russia, AIT: Interview with a Ukrainian Deserter (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 Our website has previously published interviews with Russian and

Ukrainian citizens who fled their countries to avoid participating in
the war. Now, at the request of anti-militarists from the Czech
Republic, we are publishing an interview they conducted with Vladislav,
one of the many Ukrainian deserters. ---- Question: You are a deserter
who escaped from the Ukrainian front through the Romanian mountains. You
managed to save yourself and your cat. How are you doing now? Are you
both okay?

Answer: Hello. Overall, things are much better than they were in
Ukraine. Yes, I am occasionally subjected to attacks by agents of the
Security Service of Ukraine, including provocations and politically
motivated insults, but EU citizens treat me very well; I have not
witnessed any violations of my rights by EU citizens during my entire
stay. In July 2025, my cat, Persik, went outside for a walk and never
came back. Only after his microchip was registered did the animal
shelter contact me, saying that my cat, Persik, had been hit by a car,
according to the person who brought him to the shelter. However, the
injuries found on him may indicate foul play. I'm currently gathering
evidence of this. Overall, the cat is alive and well and hasn't suffered
any consequences.

Question: Forced conscription into the army is underway in Ukraine. Many
men don't want to serve in the army. Many people also want to desert. Do
you have any advice for these people?

Answer: Yes. If you end up in the TCC, refuse to undergo a medical
examination to determine your fitness for military service. If the
situation is critical, I recommend feigning mental illness, perhaps
soiling the holding cell with your feces. Personally, in Ukraine, I
always carried a razor blade with me for cutting my veins in case I was
sent to a Ukrainian Armed Forces training center. These tools are highly
effective-training center staff are required to send people for a
psychiatric evaluation, which increases the chances of escape. I'm not
encouraging people to self-harm. But there is a way out of a psychiatric
hospital, but not out of a coffin. Personally, if I ended up in a
training center, I planned to slit my wrists and smear the training
center with feces. I've had two illnesses since childhood -
obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder - but in Ukraine, these conditions aren't sufficient grounds
for exclusion from military service. Then, army personnel are surprised
why such people shoot army commanders. After all, getting weapons into
the hands of such people can provoke their use even in the case of a
simple insult from military command.

Question: How can people in Europe help deserters?

Answer: People in the EU already provide sufficient assistance to
deserters. But from a legal perspective, an EU decision prohibiting the
extradition and deportation of deserters would help prevent the torture
such people face in Ukraine. I agree that criminals who committed crimes
before fleeing Ukraine should be punished. However, the execution of a
Ukrainian court's sentence is possible within the EU. This would serve
as a safeguard against political persecution. Ukraine and Russia follow
the practice of the Soviet KGB, using cases from 10 years ago to
pressure those they deem undesirable. These countries can also fabricate
criminal cases to pressure them to stop actions that are unfavorable to
the totalitarian regime. I would call on the EU not to recognize the
decisions of Russian and Ukrainian courts against men made during the
war. Often, these cases are politically motivated.

Question: A new law is being discussed in Ukraine that will worsen the
situation for deserters who fled to Europe. What exactly will this law mean?

Answer: Yes. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, whose brother
deserted to London during the war, has introduced a bill to the
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that criminalizes fleeing Ukraine and the
failure of deserters to return to Ukraine within 90 days of the law's
adoption. They intend to transfer jurisdiction over these criminal cases
to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and propose trying them in
absentia. In fact, the Ukrainian totalitarian regime plans to categorize
defection from Ukraine alongside treason, involvement in organized
crime, or crimes against peace and global security. This indicates that
the SBU is beginning to transform into the KGB of the USSR, and is being
used to pressure those undesirable to the Ukrainian totalitarian regime.
Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada granted the SBU the right to independently
submit bills to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which I regard as a
seizure of state power, since, according to the Constitution of Ukraine,
legislative drafting belongs solely to the Verkhovna Rada. In effect,
the Ukrainian regime is giving the SBU the ability to submit laws
favorable to the regime, which is unacceptable for an executive branch.

To prevent the persecution of deserters, I am currently working on
forming an Order of Resistance to the Ukrainian totalitarian regime
through legal means. Question: Does this mean that these laws will give
EU police and courts the right to prosecute deserters within the EU?

Answer: Yes and no. If the bill is passed, the authorities will be able
to try deserters in absentia in Ukraine and, based on the Ukrainian
court's verdict, request that EU authorities place them on an
international wanted list for the purpose of extradition to Ukraine.
Since trials in absentia directly violate fair trial guarantees, namely
Article 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms, all verdicts in such cases will be guilty. A
totalitarian regime aims to bring back as much cannon fodder from the EU
as possible, and they will do absolutely anything to achieve this goal.

EU countries may, of course, ignore extradition requests for such
crimes, as they are politically motivated, but my personal opinion is
that such requests will be fulfilled by EU authorities.

Question: Could these laws also mean the deportation of deserters back
to Ukraine?

Answer: Yes. Not deportation, but extradition as criminals under
Ukrainian law. Such people are unlikely to be sent to the front lines,
as they will be immediately sent to prison to serve their sentences
after being handed over to Ukrainian authorities. However, in Ukrainian
prisons, they risk torture by authorities and pressure to sign a
contract for convicted persons. If they sign such contracts, they are
immediately sent to storm the Russian armed forces. Military service
that does not involve direct participation in combat is not provided for
such people.

Question: What other problems will deserters face if these laws are
applied in Ukraine?

Answer: They will be required to apply for asylum status. Only this
status can prevent the Ukrainian authorities from fulfilling their
extradition request. This status can take years, and in some cases,
decades, to obtain. While a deserter is an asylum seeker, they are not
allowed to work or leave the country where they have requested asylum.
Their place of residence is determined by the immigration service, they
will receive a minimum salary and limited health insurance that covers
only emergency medical conditions. In effect, asylum seekers are
deprived of the fundamental rights that allow them to move freely within
the EU, the right to work, and the right to freely choose their place of
residence. The funds paid to asylum seekers are unlikely to be
sufficient to cover personal expenses, with the exception of food,
hygiene products, and basic household needs.

Source of publication: https://antimilitarismus.noblogs.org/post/2025/10/15/

https://aitrus.info/node/6339
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