8 Russian Soldiers Escaped Ukraine War By Wearing Civilian Clothes, Riding Cab

Eight Russian soldiers are now facing desertion charges after fleeing their military unit in Ukraine and calling cabs to return home to Russia, according to a report.

The escape, allegedly organized by junior sergeant Evgeny Kravchenko, saw the soldiers donning civilian clothes and hailing two cabs home to Lipetsk, Russia, on Dec. 23, 2022. The group later took minibusses to Podolsk in Moscow Oblast, where they voluntarily surrendered their weapons to local police, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, as per translations via Google Translate.

The outlet noted that the group was first drafted into the Russian army on Sept. 24, 2022, three days after President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilization order. The soldiers were later transferred to a military camp near Mala Oleksandrivka in Ukraine's Luhansk region, where they were ordered to build dugouts. They were not given food or quality uniforms in the camp.

The group decided to flee the war in Ukraine "for the sake of saving their lives and health" after being informed by the Russian command that they would be deployed to the frontline, according to the outlet.

Under Russian criminal law, wartime acts such as armed desertion are a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Evgeny Saveskul, Kravchenko's defense lawyer, argued that none of the mobilized intended to desert their combat duties but added that they did not want to participate in the war unprepared either.

"None of them wanted to desert, but they didn't want to fight without appropriate preparation, either," the attorney said.

Kravchenko is currently under the custody of the garrison military court. The remaining seven deserters who fled with him were identified as corporal Dmitry Medvedev, sailor Alexander Babenko, and privates Nikolai Kolmachev, Alexander Eliseev, Igor Medvedev, Alexander Bogachenok and Denis Balakhin. They are now being held by the unit commander at the Chekhov-4 army base.

There have been multiple reports of Russian soldiers and military personnel fleeing from the war in Ukraine since it began in February 2022.

In December last year, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) said more than 200 Russian soldiers were wanted in the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast after "leaving their places of service en masse."

In November, Victor Sevalnev, the commander of the 7th motorized rifle company of the Luhansk "people's militia," told his wife that he would be executed after soldiers under his command deserted. His death was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Dec. 1, investigative news website The Insider reported, citing prisoners' rights NGO Gulagu.net.