200 Russian Army Deserters 'Hiding In The Woods' To Avoid Capture, Council Says

Hundreds of Russian servicemen have fled to the woods of Ukraine's Kharkiv region following a battle with Ukrainian forces to avoid capture by their commanders, according to local authorities.

Residents of Borova, a settlement located northeast of the Russian-occupied city of Izyum, discovered the deserters, Yahoo News reported.

"[The Russians] found a place for refuge in our village to recover. We have information that approximately 200 Russians are now hiding in the woods close to our village. They’re being sought by their commanders," Borova's community council said in a social media post.

"They came back here - injured, covered with dirt, hungry, full of anger, with their equipment damaged," the council added.

A group of Russian soldiers also retreated to Gorohovatka, a small village on the outskirts of Borova, after suffering losses in another battle for control over Izyum. Another group went into hiding in the woods.

Ukraine's Armed Forces liberated Dmytrivka, a village near Izyum, and forced Russian soldiers to retreat from the settlement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced Friday.

The Armed Forces, along with the Izyum Territorial Defense Forces, liberated the villages of Spivakivka and Zavody during a counterattack against Russian occupiers, Ukrinform reported last week.

Ukrainian forces also destroyed Russia's 35th Combined Arms Army in Izyum, Andriy Yermak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Telegram.

The 38th and 64th Separate Guard Motor Rifle Brigades, part of the army, suffered major losses and now have less than 100 servicemen among them, a Russian military blogger was cited as saying by United States-based think tank The Institute for the Study of War.

Russian soldiers are deserting to flee the ongoing war, according to the Security Service of Ukraine.

Some officers have also laid down their arms and left their personnel to their devices.

Both Ukrainian and Russian troops are facing "troubled" morale as officials begin to claim that the war may drag on for years, a report by the Associated Press said.

"Ukrainian forces have likely suffered desertions in recent weeks, Russian morale highly likely remains especially troubled," the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense said.

"Combat units from both sides are committed to intense combat in the Donbas and are likely experiencing variable morale," the ministry noted.