Russian deserters reveal escape from Ukraine front lines

Rustam and Igor, once soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine, now live in a quiet Finnish town, their harrowing experiences a stark contrast to their current peace. Their stories reveal a desperate flight from a war they never wanted to join.

Rustam's ordeal began in Vladivostok when he was detained outside a restaurant, falsely accused of attacking police officers. "It was complete nonsense. They made it all up. They beat me and held me for two days," he recounted. Military personnel then took him and sent him to Zaporizhzhia, on the front lines in Ukraine.

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It was complete nonsense. They made it all up. They beat me and held me for two days.

Igor, 27, faced a similar fate after Putin's mobilization order in the fall of 2022. Told he would serve three months as a reservist, he was instead on a plane to southern Russia the next day, eventually ending up in Donbas. "We lived in holes we dug ourselves. Mice ate our food. At the same time, we were attacked by mortars and drones," Igor described the brutal conditions. His comrades died, and promised rotations never materialized.

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We lived in holes we dug ourselves. Mice ate our food. At the same time, we were attacked by mortars and drones.

After a year on the front, Igor decided to escape. He crawled for hours between dead bodies during an attack and was aided by a local who helped him leave his position. Using his military ID, he bought a plane ticket to Sakhalin, avoiding immediate detection as his passport was not with him. He hid for 18 months, working as a waiter, but police began questioning his mother.

Rustam, meanwhile, also found himself on the front for several terrifying weeks. "People died every day. We dug tunnels to hide, but we couldn't leave anymore. We ran out of food, and at one point even water. We only had autumn clothes, and winter had arrived. I got sick, I thought I would die." His lawyer then obtained a fake death certificate for his mother, which Rustam used to get ten days leave for a supposed funeral. On New Year's Eve, amidst a thick fog, he ran from his tunnel and reached a checkpoint, where he was let through by drunken guards. He eventually made it back to Sakhalin and went into hiding.

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People died every day. We dug tunnels to hide, but we couldn't leave anymore. We ran out of food, and at one point even water.