Photo: wikipedia
Ukrainian servicemembers are being warned that transferring to another unit after going AWOL is about to become far more difficult. Several brigades have circulated notices stating that the General Staff has revised the procedure for returning from unauthorized absence, and that soldiers will now be reassigned exclusively to Air Assault Forces or assault regiments.
One such message was shared with hromadske by a soldier from a Ground Forces brigade.
According to the notice, “the new rules require disregarding recommendation letters or written approvals from unit commanders and directing all personnel returning from AWOL to designated priority units (assault regiments and the Air Assault Forces). This information must be communicated to all servicemembers not as intimidation but as a clarification that the mechanism for transferring to a chosen unit after AWOL no longer applies.”
In another Ground Forces brigade, commanders have been instructed to stop issuing recommendation letters or approvals to soldiers who left their units without permission. Instead, brigades are encouraged to recruit such personnel through reserve battalions rather than through individual letters.
“Our recruiting channel is basically shut. They show up — and are sent straight to the assault units,” a battalion commander who has already encountered the new rules told hromadske.
He described how he had issued an approval for a soldier who had gone AWOL from his brigade and wanted to transfer into his battalion. But when the soldier presented the document to the Military Law Enforcement Service, he was redirected to an assault regiment. After seeking help from a different territorial recruitment center, he was again assigned to an assault regiment — a different one.
The General Staff told hromadske to submit an official request to obtain clarification on how the AWOL transfer mechanism will function going forward. The request has been filed, and a response is pending.
Earlier, hromadske reported on how soldiers return from AWOL and on widespread criticism of reserve battalions. As explained by Vitalii Piasetskyi, senior sergeant of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, these battalions may include not only those who return voluntarily but also demotivated personnel detained by Military Law Enforcement. Spending a month in such an environment — for example, alongside soldiers struggling with alcohol dependence — can undermine the motivation of those who came back on their own. Piasetskyi argued that the procedure for returning from AWOL should be simplified.
