[M T]

This doesn't look so good:

Ukraine’s new defense chief reveals 200,000 soldiers have gone AWOL and 2 million are draft dodging | CNN

Let's put a little perspective on the situation.

My understanding is there were an incredible number of soldiers in the USA Civil War (ACW) on both the North and the South sides that left their military units before their tour of duty was up.  That's not to say they didn't go back to their units or join other units, but they often left to take care of family or their homes.  Remember that the Russian-Ukrainian battle is happening where the Ukrainian families live.  If you were stationed in Central California and you heard your home & family was bombed, wouldn't you be tempted to go help out at home?  You wouldn't want to wait for the paperwork that might never come.

As for draft dodging, I was a young adult male in the Vietnam era.   Admittedly, that war was very different than the Russian invasion.  I don't know how many young men left the US (or used other avenues) to avoid serving in the military. I don't know how many more would have left had they been called up to the military (For instance, I was never called up so I was among the very large group that didn't have to commit to a decision one way or the other.)   I happen to know a woman who left the US at the time because she didn't like what was happening.   Going back to the ACW times, I know of the youngest boy (b 1853) in a military family (both N and S) that was sent to California to avoid being involved in the war.

[M T]

This doesn't look so good:

Ukraine’s new defense chief reveals 200,000 soldiers have gone AWOL and 2 million are draft dodging | CNN

Let's put a little perspective on the situation.

My understanding is there were an incredible number of soldiers in the USA Civil War (ACW) on both the North and the South sides that left their military units before their tour of duty was up.  That's not to say they didn't go back to their units or join other units, but they often left to take care of family or their homes.  Remember that the Russian-Ukrainian battle is happening where the Ukrainian families live.  If you were stationed in Central California and you heard your home & family was bombed, wouldn't you be tempted to go help out at home?  You wouldn't want to wait for the paperwork that might never come.

As for draft dodging, I was a young adult male in the Vietnam era.   Admittedly, that war was very different than the Russian invasion.  I don't know how many young men left the US (or used other avenues) to avoid serving in the military. I don't know how many more would have left had they been called up to the military (For instance, I was never called up so I was among the very large group that didn't have to commit to a decision one way or the other.)   I happen to know a woman who left the US at the time because she didn't like what was happening.   Going back to the ACW times, I know of the youngest boy (b 1853) in a military family (both N and S) that was sent to California to avoid being involved in the war.