Interview carried out by Anti-Militarist Initiative (AMI)in Czechia on
15th October 2025 ---- Vladyslav deserted from the Ukrainian army andnow lives in a European country. We asked him a few questions to clarify
the current situation of deserters. ---- 1) You are a deserter who fled
from the Ukrainian front across the Romanian mountains. You managed to
save yourself and your cat. How are you doing now? Are you both okay?
---- Hello. Overall, much better than in Ukraine. Yes, from time to time
I am the target of attacks by Ukrainian security service agents,
including provocations and insults for political reasons. However, EU
residents treat me very well, and during my entire stay I have not
experienced any violations of my rights by EU citizens. In July 2025, my
cat Peach went out for a walk and did not return. Only after registering
his microchip did the animal shelter contact me and inform me that,
according to the person who brought him to the shelter, my cat had been
hit by a car. However, the physical injuries found on him may indicate
intentional action. I am now gathering evidence about this. But overall,
the cat is alive and well, with no lasting effects.
2) Forced mobilisation into the army is underway in Ukraine. Many men do
not want to serve in the army. Many people also want to desert. Do you
have any advice for these people?
Yes. Upon arrival at the TCC (Territorial Centre of Recruitment,
military administration body responsible for military records and
conscription, it replaced the former system of military commissariats
and is tasked with mobilising the population for service, which has led
to controversy and public confrontations as they attempt to deliver
summons and recruit men), refuse to undergo a medical examination to
determine your fitness for military service. If the situation is
critical, I recommend simulating mental disorders or, if necessary,
defecating in your cell. Personally, I always carried a razor blade with
me in Ukraine to cut my veins in case I ended up in a training centre.
These methods are highly effective-training centre employees are
required to send the person for a psychiatric examination, which
increases the chances of escape. I am not encouraging people to
self-harm. But there is a way out of a psychiatric hospital, but not out
of a grave. Personally, I planned that if I ended up in a training
centre, I would slit my wrists and smear faeces around the training
centre. Since childhood, I have suffered from two
illnesses-obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder-but in Ukraine, these illnesses are not
sufficient grounds for exemption from military service. Then army
officials wonder why such people shoot army commanders. After all,
giving weapons to such people can provoke their use even in the case of
a mere insult from the military leadership.
3) How can people in Europe help deserters?
People in the EU are already helping deserters enough. However, in the
legal sphere, an EU decision on the inadmissibility of extraditing and
deporting deserters would help prevent the torture to which these people
are subjected in Ukraine. I agree that criminals who committed crimes
before fleeing Ukraine should be punished. However, the Ukrainian
court's judgment can be enforced within the EU. This would be a
guarantee against political persecution. Ukraine and Russia adhere to
the practices of the KGB in the USSR and use cases from 10 years ago to
put pressure on those they do not like. These countries can also
fabricate criminal cases to exert pressure to stop actions that are
unacceptable to a totalitarian regime. I call on the EU not to recognise
the decisions of Russian and Ukrainian courts against men taken during
the war. These cases are often politically motivated.
4) Ukraine is discussing a new law that will worsen the situation of
deserters who have fled to Europe. What exactly does this law mean?
Yes. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, whose brother fled to
London during the war, has submitted a bill to the Ukrainian parliament
that would criminalise fleeing Ukraine and not returning to Ukraine
within 90 days of the law's adoption. They want to transfer jurisdiction
over these criminal cases to the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) and
propose to try them in absentia. In fact, the Ukrainian totalitarian
regime plans to equate fleeing Ukraine with treason, participation in
organised crime, or crimes against peace and world security. This
suggests that the SBU is beginning to transform into the KGB known from
the USSR and is being used to put pressure on those who are undesirable
to the Ukrainian totalitarian regime. Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada
granted the SBU the right to independently submit draft laws to the
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which I consider to be a seizure of
state power, because according to the Ukrainian constitution, lawmaking
is the exclusive prerogative of the Verkhovna Rada. The Ukrainian regime
is effectively giving the SBU the ability to submit laws that are
beneficial to the regime, which is unacceptable for an executive body.
In order to prevent the persecution of deserters, I am currently working
through legal means to organise resistance against the Ukrainian
totalitarian regime.
5) Does this mean that these laws will give the police and courts in the
EU the power to prosecute deserters within the EU?
Yes and no. If the bill is passed, the authorities will be able to try
deserters in absentia on Ukrainian territory and, on the basis of a
Ukrainian court ruling, request that the EU authorities issue an
international arrest warrant for deserters with a view to their
extradition to Ukraine. Since trials in absentia directly violate the
guarantees of a fair trial, specifically Article 6 of the Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, all verdicts in
such cases will be guilty. The totalitarian regime aims to bring back as
many cannon fodder from the EU as possible and will do absolutely
everything to achieve this goal. EU countries can, of course, ignore
extradition requests for such crimes because they are political, but my
personal opinion is that such requests will be granted by the EU
authorities.
6) Could these laws also mean the deportation of deserters back to Ukraine?
Yes. However, this is not deportation, but extradition as criminals
under Ukrainian law. These people are not at risk of being sent to the
front line because, immediately after being handed over to the Ukrainian
authorities, they will be sent to prison to serve their sentences.
However, in Ukrainian prisons, they face torture by the authorities and
pressure to sign a contract for convicted persons. If they sign such a
contract, these people are immediately sent to fight against the Russian
armed forces. Military service that does not involve direct
participation in combat operations is not provided for these persons.
7) What other problems will deserters encounter if these laws are
enforced in Ukraine?
They will have to switch to asylum seeker status. Only this status can
influence the Ukrainian authorities' failure to comply with the
extradition request. This status can take years to obtain, in some cases
even decades. As long as a deserter has asylum seeker status, they have
no right to work or leave the country in which they have applied for
asylum. Their place of residence is determined by the migration service,
and they will receive a minimum financial allowance and limited health
insurance that only covers urgent medical cases. Asylum seekers are thus
effectively deprived of their fundamental rights, which 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
barely enough to cover personal expenses, with the exception of food,
hygiene products, and basic necessities.
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2025/10/19/interview-on-the-current-situation-of-deserters-from-the-ukrainian-army/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten