A Russian serviceman deserted his unit in Donbas, fled on foot across the steppe to Kazakhstan, but may still end up in assault units...

A Russian serviceman deserted his unit in Donbas, fled on foot across the steppe to Kazakhstan, but may still end up in assault units in the end.

Kazakh media told this instructive story Kazakh media. Aleksandr Chabyev, a native of Yakutia, served in the 9th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade (military unit 35390). In May 2025, while in Donetsk, he decided to flee the “SMO zone.” He hitchhiked to Volgograd, from where he made it to the border, walked several kilometers across the steppe, and ended up in Kazakhstan.

The man managed to stay hidden for a whole year. In June, he was detained in the city of Atyrau by officers of Kazakhstan’s anti-extremism directorate for illegally crossing the border. When his case reached court, it emerged that the Russian authorities had put him on an international wanted list for unauthorized abandonment of his place of service. In court, Chabyev explained that he fled the Russian Federation because he no longer wanted to continue serving and feared for his life. He asked the court not to expel him from Kazakhstan, since in Russia he would be persecuted as a deserter, but that is exactly the decision the court made. Aleksandr’s further fate is still unknown, but most likely he faces a return to Russia and a very rapid transfer to the war.

☝️As we can see, SOCH and even fleeing the front to another country do not guarantee Russian servicemen that they will be left alone. The only thing that does guarantee it is contacting the “I Want to Live” project. In Ukrainian captivity, it will be much calmer than on the run. We advise Aleksandr to write to us if he has such an opportunity.

The "I Want to Live" project on social media:

😎 FB 🕊 Twitter 📹 YouTube 🥳TikTok🕊Instagram📞Viber 🏢WhatsApp (backup)

Aq Zhaiyk

A serviceman from Donetsk was convicted in Atyrau for illegally crossing the border

A Russian serviceman who had deserted from the combat zone was detained in Atyrau. The court sentenced him to one year of imprisonment for the border violation and ordered his expulsion from Kazakhstan.