You're reading: International Business Times: 16,000 troops abandoned military since conflict began, Kyiv official says

Around 16,000 Ukrainian troops, some with their weapons, have deserted from the country's armed forces since the war in the Donbas region of the country erupted in April 2014, according to figures offered Monday by Kyiv's Chief Military prosecutor Anatoly Matios. Despite relative calm across east Ukraine, the Ukrainian military are continuing to build forces to combat future attacks by Russian-backed rebels and possibly retake the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.

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