Russia Searching for Soldiers Who Are Abandoning War 'En Masse': Ukraine

Ukraine's military on Wednesday said Russian guards had been dispatched in Ukraine to search for Russian soldiers who deserted their positions "en masse."

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine included the information in an operational update posted on its official Facebook page. The report detailed fighting in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, where Ukraine said Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops "terrorized residents of more than 25 settlements with artillery fire."

The message continued by stating that in "the temporarily occupied territories" of Zaporizhzhia, Russian search parties have been sent to look for soldiers who have abandoned their posts.

"Russian servicemen and mercenaries of the occupation forces are leaving their places of service en masse," the Facebook post read. "Separate divisions of the Russian guard were sent to the city of Prymorsk for search operations. According to preliminary information, more than 200 people are wanted."

The operational update from the General Staff also included a report of success on part of its military.

"During the current 24 hours, the Ukrainian aviation carried out 4 strikes on the areas where the invaders were concentrated, and units of the missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit 2 control points, 2 areas of concentration of manpower and the enemy's ammunition warehouse," the post said.

Ukraine's statement about troop abandonment comes after multiple reports of morale problems among Russia's military ranks that stretch back to when the war started in late February.

Last month, a report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, said the Russian military's morale was exceptionally poor following recent combat losses.

"The morale and psychological state of Russian forces in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts are exceedingly low," the ISW said. "Significant losses on the battlefield, mobilization to the front lines without proper training, and poor supplies have led to cases of desertion."

In July, the independent news outlet MediaZona spoke with family members of dead Russian soldiers who said the recruits lacked sufficient training before being sent into war.

"There was no training," the mother of a deceased 24-year-old Russian soldier told MediaZona. "They arrived, got a uniform and a machine gun—and that's it, go ahead."

More recently, the ISW and the British Ministry of Defense (MOD) reported that Russia's military training staff had become so depleted that Belarusian instructors had been enlisted to train Russian troops. The MOD said many Russian trainers were "deployed in Ukraine or have become casualties."

The MOD evaluation indicated Belarusian trainers were not viewed as the optimal option for Moscow.

"Although Russia and Belarus have an extensive background of military co-operation, the training of mobilized Russian personnel by Belarusians represents a role reversal," the U.K. department's report said. "Belarusian forces have traditionally been considered by Russia as inferior to Russian forces and their employment as trainers is an indication of overstretch within the Russian military system."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.