In “The Deserter,” Sarah A. Topol reports the story of Ivan, a captain in the Russian Army who fought in Ukraine and then ultimately fled the war and his country with his wife, Anna. Topol spoke to 18 deserters while reporting in eight countries across four continents over the last year and a half; their experiences helped paint a vivid picture of the Russian war operation and its corruption, chaos and brutality.
Narrated by Liev Schreiber.
“The Deserter” is a five-part special series in collaboration with The New York Times Magazine.
All five parts of this audio feature can be found here (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/podcasts/russia-ukraine-deserter-audio.html) or by searching for “The Deserter” on the NYT Audio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
The text version of the story can be found here (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/09/20/magazine/ukraine-russia-war-deserter.html) .
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I live in Ukraine. I listened to the whole story.
Most Ukrainians wouldn’t stomach it for moral reasons, because “no empathy to somebody who came to our country to kill”.
However, in hard times it’s not moral dilemmas, but efficacy that should be the priority. If you want to help Ukraine survive, you need to facilitate desertion from Russian army.
As of now both armies have enough weapons, both countries have enough men of conscription age. But what’s lacking on both sides is military personnel ready to fight and NOT desert. Desertion is happening more and more in Russian and in Ukraine.
If you’re a Ukrainian deserter all you need to do is to get into the EU. Yes, you can’t do it through official border-crossing points. But the border with the EU is long, you can cross it by foot in the forest, or pay a bribe to a border officer. On the other side of the border you’re welcome! Social welfare payments in Germany are waiting for you, instead of the trenches.
If you’re a Russian deserter, and you do the same, you will be deported back to Russia, get a suspended sentence and you will be forced to return to war. So, what’s the incentive for a Russian serviceman to desert? Much weaker than that of a Ukrainian one.
Look, I understand that Wstern governments help Ukraine people, not Russians. But it’s not a matter of help. Interests of individuals and a country are sometimes opposite, especially at war. It’s absurd when Ukrainian border patrol is wasting lots of resources, men and drones to prevent deserters from crossing the border, while our allies are welcoming them with welfare benefits. It’s not so absurd to undermine Russian military by seducing Russian servicemen with a better life abroad, incentivizing others to follow their example. It’s no less important than sanctions or weapons supplies.
So, thank you, NYT for raising this story!
1:19:51 TBH, the fact that Ms. Masiello was able to work that weekend still beguiles me: she was in Buffalo celebrating her sister’s marriage.
This was so very informative. It opened up a world that I didn’t fully appreciate. Thank you.
Great story. Just hope it’s real reporting and not a biased propaganda piece.
NO i’m not pro Russian. I’m also not pro Ukraine however. Unlike most people who let emotion control their decision making, I’m unbiased.
The NYT has been known to do a fair bit of cherry picking. Can any1 confirm the legitimacy of this story here ?
Nauseating. I am almost hysterical. How sophisticatedly are Russians depicted here as victims
Never mentioning why were they in Ukraine in the first place????
How dare you
Can that be compared to the damage done to Ukraine????
Bastards