Russian commanders on the Kherson front have reportedly confiscated soldiers’ bank cards ahead of a deployment, fearing mass cases of SOCH (self-inflicted harm or desertion), according to Ukrainian partisan group ATESH.
An ATESH agent embedded with the 205th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade said the company commander collected all personnel’s bank cards as the unit prepared to move to the Donetsk region. The measure appears aimed at preventing soldiers from accessing personal funds.
The commander promised to return the cards after relocation. ATESH called the action illegal and said he forbade anyone from speaking out, threatening to “obnulit’” – a Russian term meaning to kill – those who do.
The move comes amid a surge in Russian military desertions. Russian media outlet Agentstvo Novosti reported on Sept. 28, citing Ukrainian OSINT project Frontelligence Insight, that desertion in the Russian army has doubled in 2025 compared with 2024.
At current rates, at least 70,000 troops –about one-tenth of Russia’s contingent in Ukraine—could abandon their units this year.
Frontelligence Insight, analyzing tens of thousands of service records and internal documents, found contract soldiers account for most deserters.
In the 30th Motorized Rifle Brigade, 73.6% of deserters were contract troops and 22.1% were prisoners.
Desertions increasingly occur from frontline positions or medical facilities rather than from bases. Some brigades are able to return most deserters, but the overall number keeps rising.
The increase continues despite harsh punishments – including extrajudicial actions, and in some units, torture, staged executions, and other reprisals – highlighting deep problems in the Russian army, the report said.
Previously, ATESH reported that some Russian soldiers in the Kherson region have set fire to their own vehicles and transport to avoid advancing to frontline positions.