He refused so they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. Russia has suffered a series of military setbacks in the Ukraine war that triggered criticism of the army's leadership. "Some soldiers, under the . In a rare public spat involving the Kremlin, 25 National Guard 'refuseniks' defied their . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. My daughter was born three months ago. Another soldier from the 205th Brigade also said commanders gave no preparation to soldiers before the war, and when the units deployed, they were told they were going on exercises. Russia launched the attack on Ukraine from three sides on February 24. But then someone said they'd take my son to work in the storeroom. These people are ready for anything. Jan 27, 2023. A court in the Russian city of Ufa has sentenced a 24-year-old corporal to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine. "This is all nonsense and fake claims and there is nothing to back them up with. He had helped oversee fighting in eastern Ukraine. A lawyer told Sergey and two like-minded colleagues to return their arms and go back to their unit's headquarters - where they should file a letter explaining that they were "morally and psychologically exhausted" and could not continue fighting in Ukraine. A group of Russian soldiers recently sent Vladimir Putin a video complaining about "being sent to the slaughter" and begging for more military support in . Fewer and fewer Russian servicemen want to fight for the Kremlin's invading plans. About 60 Russian paratroopers mutinied and refused to fight in Ukraine, according to Russian press reports related to Putin's government. July 20, 2022 16:08 GMT. Read about our approach to external linking. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Born in Russia, he graduated from St. Petersburg State University and also received film and video production training at Bard College in New York. This is not our war. Read about our approach to external linking. Read about our approach to external linking. He gets it now. Some large government-run companies have received letters urging them to sign up their staff for the army. My contract ends in June. Benyash said hundreds and hundreds of soldiers had been in touch with his team for advice on how they could avoid being sent to fight. Reports from Russia said authorities would call up 300,000 people with "relevant" skills or military experience. "The commanders' aim is to keep the soldiers down there. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a special . The human rights activist said Kononov may be sent to serve in Ukraine again, explaining that the punishment means it will be even more difficult for him to achieve early dismissal. Within the dense smoke caused by the propaganda of one side or the other, the truth is that there does seem to be a good number of Russian soldiers who have refused to fight in Ukraine. 'I Had To Refuse So I Could Stay Alive' The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 23. A Russian official this week responded to the Biden administration's refusal to rule out sending depleted uranium anti-tank munitions to Ukraine by warning that deployment of such weaponswhich have been linked to birth defects, miscarriages, and cancerwould be regarded by Moscow as use of "dirty nuclear bombs." According to . A group of desperate Russian soldiers have issued an open letter by way of video to despotic President Vladimir Putin. The head of Britain's GCHQ spy service said on Wednesday that new intelligence showed some Russian soldiers in Ukraine had refused to carry out orders, sabotaged their own equipment and . Some Russian troops are refusing to return to fight in Ukraine because of their experiences on the front line at the start of the invasion, according to Russian human rights lawyers and activists. Boris Johnson's cabinet received an update from a senior national security official on Tuesday morning. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. He is now home in Russia, having taken legal advice to avoid being sent back to the front line. Moscow initially put about 80% of its main ground combat forces 150,000 men into the war in February, according to western officials. Brigade commanders ask who wants to guard the second gunners unit. Missing In Action: A Russian Soldier's Mother Desperately Seeks Answers, Vox Pop: Muscovites On How Russia's Isolation Affects Daily Life. Images by Anton Chicherov. appreciated. Despite speculation beforehand, Putin did not formally declare war on Ukraine during his Victory Day speech on 9 May. A group of Russian soldiers are suing the army after they were fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine. Once again, we have changed their names. In . Artillery sentry duty? The latest as of 7.15 a.m. Sergey joined the army as a conscript - most Russian men between the ages of 18-27 must complete one year of compulsory military service. A Russian soldier has been sentenced for refusing to fight in the war in Ukraine. "We're on the same wavelength now," Sergei tells me. Dmytrashkivskyi added the Russians had carried out 15 assaults over the past day, while the same number stood at 60 assaults per day a month ago. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a . I understood that I had to refuse so I could stay alive, he said. Soldiers with the 127th Regiment of the 1st Army Corps rioted, according to the operational command. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was covered in blood, his father has claimed. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. ET Saturday: A curfew in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, has been extended from 5 pm until 8 am every day At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been . Journalists fight on their own frontline. "Then they took him into a room and told him: 'You're coming with us, otherwise we'll kill you.' I'm shocked by our army. Human rights activist Sergei Krivenko says he is not aware of any prosecutions of those refusing to return to the front. Without a formal . Russian forces were driven out of much of the northeastern Kharkiv region in early September by a Ukrainian counter-offensive that allowed Kyiv to retake thousands of square kilometres of territory. Ukrainians have been asked to avoid going near windows or on balconies and be . Its members have been deployed in the Donetsk area and are supposed to take control of the defense line until March 5, he added. I have nothing to be ashamed of. And that means he cant be prosecuted for desertion or going AWOL. Some Russian troops are refusing to return to fight in Ukraine because of their experiences on the front line at the start of the invasion, according to Russian human rights lawyers and activists. "He told me he had refused to lead his men to a certain death," Oxana tells me. Ukraine's leader pledged Friday to push for victory in 2023 as he and other Ukrainians marked the somber anniversary of the Russian invasion that upended their lives and Europe's security. The attack is doubly unjust. "We rushed forward with short overnight stays, without trenches, without reconnaissance. "I can see that the war continues, it is not going away," he told the BBC. At another moment, he said, unit commanders ordered a squad of five soldiers to try to seize a nearby settlement defended by up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers. But there's a more common explanation. Independent Russian media have also been reporting hundreds of cases of soldiers refusing repeat deployments to Ukraine since the beginning of April. 2023 BBC. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. The official warned that the next phase of the war was likely to be an "attritional conflict" which could last . .. Advertisement .. Russian Soldier Brutally Thrashed For Refusing To Fight In Ukraine War: Report, Arrested AAP Ministers Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain Quit Delhi Cabinet, Nithyananda's 'Republic Of Kailasa' At UN Meet. A Russian court sentenced Marsel Kandarov to five years in prison for refusing to take part in the special military operation. Russian resistance is growing against Putin's war. In conversations with Current Time via the Russian social media giant VK, several soldiers from the brigade disputed the circumstances behind their inclusion on the wall of shame. Troops from the Russian so-called Cossack Detachment are refusing to take part in offensive operations due to Russian forces' heavy losses near Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast. Almost immediately his unit found itself under attack. If a soldier acts according to such procedures, then he cannot be criminally prosecuted for this. In October, a new general was appointed to lead Russia's offensive. "I had thought that we were the Russian army, the most super-duper in the world," says the young man bitterly. Did you encounter any technical issues? It caught fire and there were [Russian] soldiers inside. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . In particular, conscripts are starting to cancel their contracts. He says his convoy - travelling through northern Ukraine - broke up after just four days when a bridge they were about to cross exploded, killing comrades ahead of them. Ilya Kononov, a contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged with "unauthorized abandonment of the unit" in July, court records show. Honestly, we had to supply ourselves with food. Conscripts could fill some of the gaps, but they will be poorly trained. "Inclined toward treason, lies . The Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported Friday that Russian officials have detained contract soldiers who refuse to fight in special detention camps in occupied Ukraine. From Ukraine there have been multiple reports of mobilised Russian troops being detained - in some cases, locked in cellars and basements - for refusing to return to the frontline. DeSantis won't say he's running. Vladimir Putins forces launched an invasion of Ukraine in February but never formally declared war, meaning soldiers can be fired but shouldnt be jailed, an attorney who has represented reluctant soldiers told the newspaper. Their identities have been protected by the BBC. July 19, 2022. The beach, just north of Odessa in southern Ukraine, was defended with mines and anti-tank hedgehogs. My son told me, 'I never thought my own country would treat me this way.' Homesick. Russia Ukraine War One Year Anniversary Ukrainian troops and their UK military instructors, commemorate lives lost in the Russian invasion of Ukraine during a sunrise commemorative service, at . Soldiers are refusing to fire artillery on civilians until they clear the area. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. He said the "Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most massive violations of human rights" being witnessed in the world today. As a result of what I believe were tactical and strategic mistakes made by my commanders and their total disregard for human life I made the decision not to continue in the military operation, one soldier jailed for over a week said in written testimony to prosecutors, which was observed by the Guardian. "There are held in pits, tortured and things like that. They've spent time in the trenches, getting cold and hungry, but when they come back they just get shouted and sworn at by their commanders.". The man narrated the ordeal his son suffered to the BBC, saying that he had begged his son not to go. The Russian defense ministry didnt respond to the Guardians request for comment. Russian troops sabotaging their own equipment and refusing orders in Ukraine, UK spy chief says Published Thu, Mar 31 2022 7:30 AM EDT Updated Thu, Mar 31 2022 4:40 PM EDT Chloe Taylor @ChloeTaylor141 Such an action would be "premature" without having assessed the harm to the military service he was involved in, the prosecutor said. A Russian military unit deployed in Ukraine's south has refused to fight over a lack of vital supplies such as water, Ukraine said Sunday. Discovery Company. Anyone? He told me his face was covered in blood. Moscow's war is unjust, but there's no moral obligation for soldiers to refuse to fight. The arrests of the soldiers, whose . Heavy street fighting against Russian troops was underway in Kyiv as officials urged locals to take immediate shelter. Ukraine's Operational Command South reported in a . If I dont get the compensation that I am entitled to soon, I will go public and make a major issue of it., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. In July, for example, 17 Russian soldiers were reportedly detained in the country's eastern Luhansk region after they said they would not continue fighting in the war and tried to end their short-term contracts. "Another reason is the foul way they're being treated. In his conversations with Current Time, Kaminsky lamented what he described as commanders callous disregard for the wellbeing of their troops. There have been an estimated 140 soldiers put behind bars in eastern Ukraine, with some allegedly guarded by pro-Moscow mercenaries in a military base surrounded by land mines, the Guardian reported. Kaminsky said discontent had been building in the unit for weeks, if not months. And this, according to a video on social media app Telegram, has . 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