During 2024, Ukrainian courts issued 849 verdicts for military personnel's unauthorized abandonment of the unit and 198 for desertion, a source in the judiciary told Interfax-Ukraine.

"Under Article 407 of the Criminal Code (unauthorized abandonment of the unit), some 6,041 cases are pending in the courts. This year, 7,068 cases have been received by the courts. The number of verdicts issued by Ukrainian courts in 2024 under the article on unauthorized abandonment of the unit is 849," the agency's source said.

As for criminal proceedings for desertion (Article 408 of the Criminal Code), some 516 of them were received by the courts this year, and 393 are currently under consideration by the courts. "The number of sentences handed down for desertion in 2024 is 198," the source said.