Full story
Desertions during training
Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers deserted during training exercises in Germany, Die Zeit reported, including about 80 cases in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt alone.
“including about 80 cases in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt alone”
Meduza described one deserter, Volodymyr Shulgin, 39, from Dnipro, who was sent for training to the Altengrabow military training ground on the border between Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg after a Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) patrol stopped him in late January 2026.
Meduza said Shulgin developed a fever during morning roll call, was hit in the chest by a sergeant and ordered to do 50 squats as punishment, and later decided to desert after a Ukrainian officer threatened to “bury him in a hole and report him as missing.”
Euronews said that since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, around 29,000 Ukrainian soldiers have undergone training in Germany, according to the Bundeswehr, and that after completing the course they are normally expected to return to Ukraine and be deployed there.
Legal status and asylum
Euronews said the federal government has not yet published any official nationwide statistics and that across Germany there are said to be hundreds of incidents of Ukrainian troops deserting after completing their military training.
Euronews reported that the simplified residence status for Ukrainian war refugees generally does not automatically apply to soldiers sent from Ukraine to Germany for training, and that asylum applications in Germany likely to be unsuccessful.
DIE WELT said that unlike Ukrainians who flee to Germany, Ukrainian soldiers in Germany do not fall under Paragraph 24 of the German Residence Act, which provides protection if someone has been displaced from Ukraine.
DIE WELT also said deserters face up to twelve years in prison at home, and that men are considered deserters under Ukrainian law after fleeing their training ground in Saxony-Anhalt.
Numbers, patterns, and risk
Meduza said Die Zeit journalists spoke with about a dozen Ukrainian deserters and described different motives, including people who wanted to reunite with loved ones in the EU whom they hadn’t seen in years and one who had previously served a 15-year sentence for murder.
“including up to 12 years in prison”
Meduza reported that deserters face criminal liability in Ukraine, including up to 12 years in prison, and that the chances of success for staying in Germany are slim because the legal path is to apply for asylum and prove returning would endanger their lives or expose them to political persecution.
Euronews said in Saxony-Anhalt the interior ministry is aware of around 80 cases and that across Germany there are said to be hundreds of such incidents, while noting that the federal government has not yet published official nationwide statistics.
DIE WELT said more than 80 Ukrainian soldiers who are being trained in Germany for the war in Ukraine have fled their training ground in Saxony-Anhalt alone since 2022, and that since February 2022 around 29,000 Ukrainian soldiers have undergone training in Germany.