russian soldiers refusing to fight in ukraine
Hes not refusing to carry out orders, so the article on insubordination or disobeying orders isnt relevant either, because hes not refusing to do so, he said. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The Insider. "There are held in pits, tortured and things like that. He simply declares that he has anti-war convictions. Not from the opposing side. The contract soldier was subsequently sentenced on July 21 to restriction in military service for one year, with a 10 percent deduction from his monetary allowance going to the state. Army commanders try to intimidate contract soldiers into staying with their units, according to Russian human rights lawyer Alexei Tabalov. A Warner Bros. Russian . The beach, just north of Odessa in southern Ukraine, was defended with mines and anti-tank hedgehogs. There is absolutely no trust in the authorities and the higher command, from the very first word, Kaminsky, 20, told Current Time in a phone interview on July 17, recorded from an undisclosed location in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. What's he waiting for? The soldier, not wanting to take part in a special military operation, did not report for duty in May 2022, said the press service on Thursday for courts in the region of Bashkortostan in the southern Urals. Early in the war, Kaminsky said, commanders ordered the brigade to defend a line opposite Ukrainian forces that stretched up to 64 kilometers in length (40 miles) about four times what the brigades troop strength could reasonably protect. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a special . Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, Survivors describe 'nightmarish seconds' as trains crashed, Bieber cancels remaining Justice world tour dates, Daily walk prevents one in 10 early deaths - study, Trump lashes out at Murdoch over vote fraud case, Uranium particles enriched to 83.7% found in Iran, Why the lab-leak theory is being taken seriously, Finland starts construction of Russia border fence. Read about our approach to external linking. Earlier Ukraines General Staff reported that invading Russian forces were seeing mass desertion among its troops amid Ukrainian military successes. The enemy has somewhat reduced its activity for the fourth day, he said. He refused so they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. July 20, 2022 16:08 GMT. 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. Many Russian soldiers would rather be dismissed or transferred than fight in Ukraine. And that, unfortunately, life would prove that.". Troops are saying no to officers, knowing that punishment is light while Russia is not technically at war. I told him: 'Better to take it. For that they sent my son to a detention centre. 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. Russian military regulations provide some legal justification and procedures for soldiers who disobey orders, according to Sergei Krivenko, a rights activist -- particularly for those who state they are anti-war, or pacifists. ", "My first thoughts were 'Is this really happening to me?'". Stas told his father about one particular battle. It soon became clear that not everyone was onboard with it. His unit moved on through the Ukrainian countryside, but there was a clear lack of strategy, he says. Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. If a soldier acts according to such procedures, then he cannot be criminally prosecuted for this. "He told me he had refused to lead his men to a certain death," Oxana tells me. The Russian defense ministry didnt respond to the Guardians request for comment. Theyre making everything so easy for you, guys. Three days of duty? Pointing to Russias military laws, Benyash said it would be more difficult for soldiers to refuse to fight if Russia were to declare a full-scale war. It wouldn't cost much to equip us. After that, I wont look at any new offers.. But by September that had all changed. Not only are they clueless, but they're simply refusing to fight, Scherba, who is currently in western Ukraine, tells co-host Molly-Jong-Fast. "You've got relatives there. We didnt have normal munitions, no flak jackets or helmets. It is, first of all, a classic example of military aggression; it is a war without a just cause. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russias southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine. Fewer and fewer Russian servicemen want to fight for the Kremlin's invading plans. Read about our approach to external linking. The soldier is in the unit, hes not running away anywhere. Many soldiers, therefore, have chosen to be fired or transferred rather than going into the meat grinder, he said. Some Russian soldiers and even whole units are "refusing to fight" in Ukraine, top UK security officials reported today. But, after a few months, he made the decision to sign a two-year professional contract which would also give him a salary. Russian troops also lost territory in the southern Kherson region as well as the Lyman transport hub in eastern Ukraine. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflictin Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin touts success, yet some ofhis soldiers refuse to fight. Ukraine's Operational Command South reported in a . Sergey says he is traumatised by his experience in Ukraine. 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. Hundreds of Russian soldiers have refused to fight or fled their posts since the war in Ukraine began, according to report published Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal. These people are ready for anything. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Poland sent the German-made tanks to help Ukraine repel Russian troops and send a "clear and measurable signal of further support", said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who was visiting Kyiv . Anyone? VLADIMIR Putin's demoralised and disillusioned troops are fleeing the war in Ukraine and surrendering without a fight, reports claim. We had no food, no water, he said. The BBC has been speaking to one such soldier. For some Russians, refusing to return to the front line may be a moral stand. He told me his face was covered in blood," the father said while speaking to the outlet. He had helped oversee fighting in eastern Ukraine. All Rights Reserved. People in Kyiv are being warned of street fighting and "subversive groups" on the third day of the Russian invasion, with reports of 198 Ukrainians dead nationwide since troops first crossed the . They were furious. Troops had been withdrawn from northern Ukraine and appeared to be regrouping for an assault in the east. The prisoners at the penal colony in St. Petersburg were expecting a visit by officials, thinking it would be some sort of inspection. "They are keeping people there because they wanted to leave, refused to fight," the father alleged. Of the 78 soldiers from Kaminskys unit who have disobeyed orders, some have been ordered held in a makeshift brig for days, he said. He and several others who'd decided to refuse had their guns taken off them and were put under armed guard.". CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflict in Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin boasts of success, though some of his soldiers refuse to fight. They'd been ordered to advance, but no one knew what lay ahead. 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. It's absurd. They haven't been seen for five months. About 140 Russian soldiers have reportedly been jailed so far. As they stopped for the evening in an abandoned farm, their commander said: "Well, as you will have worked out by now, this is not a joke. Russian rights activists say hundreds, possibly thousands of troops are balking at orders to deploy, to keep fighting, or to remain on the battlefield without rotating out or home. R ussian troops have destroyed a concrete dam built in Ukraine's Kherson Region in 2014 to cut off water to Crimea, the RIA news agency quoted the governor of Russian-annexed Crimea Sergei . The Insider. We've received your submission. Reinforcements failed to arrive and soldiers were poorly equipped for the task of taking a large city. Law enforcement located the man, Marsel Kandarov, in September, the statement added. Kaminsky said discontent had been building in the unit for weeks, if not months. As of July 20, the fate of the detained soldiers was unknown. War-weary Russian soldiers have been thrown in jail by their commanders after they refused to fight in Ukraine over the invasions total disregard for human life, a new report claims. "We were like blind kittens. "So off he went to Ukraine. Command post guard duty? A video showing two Russian soldiers being arrested after they refused to follow orders to fight in Ukraine has circulated on social media platform Telegram. We were fed once a day at lunchtime. In January, Sergey was sent near the border with Ukraine for what he was told would be military drills. The URL has been copied to your clipboard. But analysts say voluntary recruits and mercenary groups are unlikely to lead to a substantial increase in the number of new soldiers, compared with the numbers that a partial or a full-scale mobilisation would bring. We arent officially in a state of war, so they could not force me to go.. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories . 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. I didn't look back.". More than 26,000 Russian military personnel have been killed in . April 16, 2022 17:49 GMT. Commanders try to threaten their soldiers with prison time if they dissent, but we tell the soldiers that they can simply say no, Benyash said, adding that he was not aware of any criminal cases against soldiers who refused to fight. The latest as of 7.15 a.m. Western intelligence agencies say Russias losses are substantial; a top British military commander told the BBC this week that up to 50,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the invasion was launched on February 24. According to Kaminsky, the pressure ended up working in part: As of July 16, 50 of the 78 soldiers who had demanded to return to their home base had relented. Russian servicemen near Kherson, Ukraine - 20 May 2022, By Olesya Gerasimenko and Kateryna Khinkulova, A convoy of Russian military vehicles heading towards the Donbas region - 23 February 2022, Local residents by a destroyed Russian tank in Sloboda, Chernihiv, Ukraine - 8 May 2022, Banner with the letters Z and V, in support of the Russian military, on a building in Moscow - 19 May 2022, Russian service personnel rehearse for the Victory Day Parade in Moscow - 7 May 2022, President Vladimir Putin visits soldiers wounded during the conflict in Ukraine - 25 May 2022, Pinned down by Russian fire in key front line village. Sergei made several trips to the front line to try to secure his son's release. This is not our war. "He said it was my choice. "I don't want to go [back to Ukraine] to kill and be killed," says Sergey - not his real name - who spent five weeks fighting in Ukraine earlier this year. "It's a way of making people go back into that bloodbath," says Elena Popova from Russia's Movement of Conscientious Objectors. President Vladimir Putin had on September 21 ordered a mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Russians to fight in Ukraine, sparking protests and an exodus of eligible men from the country. This story has been shared 102,045 times. Other units include troops from private military companies like Vagner, or specialized, semiautonomous units overseen by Chechnyas strongman leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. My daughter was born three months ago. President Vladimir Putin promised that only professional soldiers would take part in his "special military operation.". The soldier, along with several others who decided not to take part in the fight anymore, put his refusal in writing. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflict in Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin touts success, yet some of his soldiers refuse to fight. Human rights activist Sergei Krivenko says he is not aware of any prosecutions of those refusing to return to the front. Jan 27, 2023. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Sergey is just one of hundreds of Russian soldiers understood to have been seeking such advice. There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine. Rumours abound of some Russian soldiers defying orders and refusing to cross into Ukraine to fight. A Russian soldier has been sentenced for refusing to fight in the war in Ukraine. "But refusing to fight was a difficult decision for him to take. Ukrainians have been asked to avoid going near windows or on balconies and be . The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 23. Alexander Avilov / Moskva News Agency. In Buryatia, where the 11th Brigade is based, dozens of personnel have sought legal assistance from local activists, seeking to break their contracts and get out of service in Ukraine, for various reasons. Soldiers are refusing to fire artillery on civilians until they clear the area. A Russian court sentenced Marsel Kandarov to five years in prison for refusing to take part in the special military operation. He was soon transferred to Belgorod, a Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, where he has been stationed since. It's not a war of liberation.' A video of the incident that circulated online showed the soldier complaining of poor training, using obscenities, and calling the drills an imitation. Stas was sent back to Russia. Never mind the myriad reports of Russian troops refusing to fight by the thousands, sabotaging their own shoddy equipment and even deliberately wounding themselves to abandon the war, Russian . At the beginning of April, Sergey was sent back over the border to a camp on the Russian side. The unit, stationed in Russias far east during peacetime, first entered Ukraine from Belarus when the war started at the end of February and saw bitter combat with Ukrainian forces. "I can see that the war continues, it is not going away," he told the BBC. 2023 Cable News Network. A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was covered in blood, his father has claimed. 17 Russian soldiers were reportedly detained, Russian military unit deployed in the south would not figh, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. He heard of Russian servicemen so inexperienced that they "did not know how to shoot and couldn't tell one end of a mortar from another". The men, who belonged to the key headquarters of the Pskov . Youre just a soldier for them; youre nobody.. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, When disinfo specialists lie, Gray Ladys DeSantis frustration and other commentary, Putins former spin doctor-turned-critic dead, Ukraines northeastern front could decide new battle lines, Biden needs to step up military aid for Ukraine fast. "I think that [so many of] our guys died largely because of this. His superiors argued that he should not be given the monetary compensation of up to 2,500 that wounded Russians are entitled to by law because his injury took place on Russian soil meaning it did not fall under the rules of Russias special military operation. I understood that I had to refuse so I could stay alive, he said. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Ilya Kononov, a contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged with "unauthorized . Moscow's war is unjust, but there's no moral obligation for soldiers to refuse to fight. The world mourned a year of death and conflict this week as Friday February 24 marked the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin's order for his aggressive Russian Armed Forces to invade Ukraine.. Mr. Putin had resisted ordering a mobilization for months, but his decision underscored the Kremlin's struggles on the battlefield, where more than 80,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or . The attack is doubly unjust. Finance chiefs at a Group of 20 conference in India this weekend issued a joint statement condemning Moscow for its war in Ukraine, with only China and Russia declining to sign. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook. Instead they were expected to operate without even basic equipment, such as night vision devices, he says. - Ukraine's President . (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) A U.S. Army veteran from Wisconsin died on Feb. 16 while fighting on the . One consequence of the Kremlin refusing to declare war on Kyiv - the regime insists that its invasion is a "special military operation", a distinct legal status - is that its options for forcing servicemen to the front are more limited. Why Russian Soldiers Are Refusing To Fight In The War On Ukraine. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . I didnt think I would quit, but it happened because of my wifes difficult pregnancy, when I asked for a delay until after she gave birth, a third soldier told Current Time in a VK message. They would be looking at time in prison.. A Russian soldier was sentenced in July for refusing to fight in the Ukraine war. Sergei has invited us to his home to tell us their story. Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election, Fiery Greece train collision kills 32, injures at least 85, A condition called POTS rose after covid, but patients can't find care, Drones fly deep inside Russia; Putin orders border tightened, Rep. Lauren Boebert Gets Absolutely Schooled By Jamie Raskin Using Trump's Own Words, Russian invaders refusing to go on offensive in Vuhledar area en masse, Life Cover+ Multiple Benefits in one plan, Russia redeploys unit of brigade created for war against Chechen Republic of Ichkeria near Vuhledar, Bedraggled Troops Declare Glory to Russia in Saddest Video Ever, Ukrainian Forces Demobilize Russian Tanks Near Frontline Town. When the soldiers of an elite Russian army brigade were told in early April to prepare for a second deployment to Ukraine, fear broke out among the ranks. But his stand changed after the soldier found out he had been sent to fight with "no intelligence gathering, no preparation and no cover". 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Like Vagner, or specialized, semiautonomous units overseen by Chechnyas strongman leader Ramzan..., the fate of the war continues, it is a war without just! Sentenced Marsel Kandarov to five years in prison.. a Russian soldier has been speaking to the.! Some ofhis soldiers refuse to fight was a serving officer in the fight anymore, his.
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