“This war is absurd” – Russian deserter

Mark O'Neill May 15, 2026 11:38

“I always wanted to defend my country. But why should we attack the Ukrainians? This war is absurd”.

These were the words of Yevgeny Korobov, one of the more than 50,000 Russians who have deserted the army since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He is one of the few willing to describe in detail his experience.

He has lived for three years in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, where many deserters have fled. Its government has an extradition agreement with Russia, so Korobov must remain in hiding to avoid arrest and deportation.

The son of a postal worker in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, he joined the army out of patriotism and served in Syria in 2020 in an international anti-terrorism coalition with the Americans.

In January 2022, his unit, stationed in Samara in southeast Russia, was sent to Kursk on the border with Ukraine. “Our commander told us it was for exercises only and that there would be no war. No-one expected it,” he said. “Suddenly, there was firing everywhere. A real war had begun.”

After fighting close to Kyiv, he was sent to the trenches in the Donbass, where he spent three months. He gradually decided that, since breaking his contract was impossible, he had to desert.

“Many over-estimate the fighting ability of the Russian army. There was incompetence everywhere, due to nepotism and seeking financial contracts at all levels. In the early days of the war, our commanders used Google maps – such was the lack of preparation,” he said.

“I saw volunteers without training, broken men, often divorcees who went straight to their death, a form of suicide by proxy (to obtain death payments for their family from the government”.

With no way out, he shot himself in the leg and did the same to several of his comrades who also wished to “escape from hell”. He was evacuated to a military hospital in Russia. Six months of treatment followed, after which he was due to be sent back to the front.

“I tried to bribe the doctors to give me a certificate of inability to serve, but failed. I even asked an eye doctor in a private clinic to use a laser to alter my vision. But they threw me out as an idiot!”

During his time away from the front, he found Russia unchanged. “Those who support the war are those who do not fight. The propaganda works, especially among those not involved in the war.”

He took part himself, appearing in a television programme in December 2022 that had been prepared in advance by the military leadership. “A colonel whose life I had saved invented a heroic story and awarded me a medal.”

He suffered from post-traumatic stress, including spasms and occasional violence. Finally, he was able to escape thanks to an organisation in Georgia that helps Russian soldiers leave the country. In 2025, the United Nations estimated that, since 2022, more than 50,000 soldiers had deserted.

Korobov went first to Belarus and then Kazakhstan. In Astana, he is one of 20 deserters who live in hiding. “You must pay attention all the time. I speak little to my parents. We have agreed that, if the police come to their house, they should describe me as a traitor to the motherland.”

He is at an administrative dead end. His passport expired in 2024 and his demand for political asylum has been rejected. Some of his fellow deserters have been arrested in Kazakhstan and sent back.

His lawyer Artur Alkhastov said that the deserters were in danger. “I work to have them given asylum in Europe. Our hope is in France, one of the few places where human rights still play an important role.”

In 2024, France accepted six Russian deserters from Kazakhstan. It is the only EU country that officially accepts Russian deserters.

Many EU countries, especially those in Eastern Europe, do not accept deserters out of security concerns and the fear of allowing potential spies into the Schengen area. Germany, like France, has accepted some.

The Czech Republic, Estonia and Lithuania have said they will not grant humanitarian visas to Russians fleeing mobilisation. In addition, many deserters struggle to reach the EU since they often lack proper travel documents.

Korobov said that some of the six accepted by France had stayed in his apartment in Astana. He too hopes to go there. In the meantime, while he has escaped from the war, the war has not left him.

Mark O'Neill

A Hong Kong-based writer, teacher and speaker.