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'I'm Warning You, This Is A Final Offer' The NY Times published a story on this topic today titled "Russia's New Offensive Sends Conscripts Into the Teeth of Ukraine's Lines." "Every day, sometimes more than once a day, small groups come forward and try to take our positions," said one of the Ukrainian soldiers who participated in the fight, and who asked to be identified only by his nickname, Diesel, for security reasons. More than 100 Russian national guardsmen have been fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine, court documents show, in what looks to be the clearest indication yet of dissent among some parts of . "But refusing to fight was a difficult decision for him to take. Just refuse," Sergei recalls telling Stas, who was already an army officer. Anybody want it? the commander, a lieutenant colonel identified only by his surname Agafonov, can be heard telling the soldiers. Nearly five months into the largest war in Europe since World War II, a growing number of Russian soldiers like Kaminsky are refusing to fight, demanding to return home, or outright not going to Ukraine in the first place. 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. Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, said the authorities may be worried that a general mobilisation would antagonise large sections of the population that support the special operation. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. By Timofei Rozhanskiy. Without a formal . According to an audio recording shared with Current Time, commanders met with the insubordinate soldiers on July 17, alternately threatening, begging, and trying to coerce them to remain in service or rescind their resignation requests. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a . But, he had been sufficiently worried about his unit's reaction to his refusal that he decided to seek legal advice. They don't care about the life of a soldier; whats more important is his position and rank, Kaminsky said. At the beginning of April, Sergey was sent back over the border to a camp on the Russian side. I have served for five years in the army. A Russian fleet was said to be preparing to shell port city Odessa and land troops. Kononov said he stopped showing up at his unit and, instead, spent time with his friend at his home. The whole time, not a single document was provided that would explain our arrest. We had no food, no water, he said. We drove around it and on, firing as we went. In the southern Russian town of Budyonnovsk, on the home base for the 205th Cossack Motorized Rifle Brigade, commanders have erected a wall of shame with the names, ranks, and photographs of some 300 soldiers who have disobeyed orders in the Ukraine war. "He said the [Russian] soldiers had been given no cover; there was no intelligence gathering; no preparation. In Kononov's case, court documents say that he pleaded guilty to evading military service and that he testified he wanted to take a temporary break from fighting in Ukraine. Many of us simply did not want to go back, said Dmitri, a member of the unit who asked not to be identified with his real name. A Russian soldier has been sentenced for refusing to fight in the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has declined to call for a general mobilization to replenish lost troops, instead using what analysts have described a covert, hybrid campaign to recruit fresh troops: using private military companies, extended age limitations, lucrative financial incentives, and sometimes coercive persuasion to bolster the ranks. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine. Paratroopers from the 11th Separate Air Assault Brigade, based outside Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Buryatia region in eastern Siberia, arrived in Ukraines Kherson region on February 24, shortly after Russias invasion began. More than 26,000 Russian military personnel have been killed in . Read about our approach to external linking. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Reports of Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine are also mounting. DeSantis won't say he's running. "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. 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 . A Warner Bros. 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. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a special . In July, the father of a Russian soldier told The Insider that troops were being detained or moved to a detention center in the occupied Luhansk region if they attempted to leave their posts. "I'm morally exhausted. Putin needs to make a decision regarding mobilisation in the coming weeks, said Rob Lee, a military analyst. 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. "Those refusing to fight are doing so because they've had more than their fair share of front line action," explains Elena Popova. Sergei made several trips to the front line to try to secure his son's release. Three days of duty? 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. The way my son was treated wasn't only illegal, it was inhuman.". Russian resistance is growing against Putin's war. 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. 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.". Like us on Facebook to see similar stories . A month later - 24 February, the day Russia launched its invasion - he was told to cross the border. 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. ", Stas was a serving officer when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. Deployed to Ukraine in July, Andrei was placed in detention for refusing to carry out orders. And this, according to a video on social media app Telegram, has . "So off he went to Ukraine. They would be looking at time in prison.. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! But then someone said they'd take my son to work in the storeroom. My son told me, 'I never thought my own country would treat me this way.' The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. This is one of many reported incidents where Russian soldiers have been accused of refusing to take up arms in Ukraine. 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. Ukraine's Operational Command South reported in a . Moscow initially put about 80% of its main ground combat forces 150,000 men into the war in February, according to western officials. Ukrainian service members are seen at the site of fighting with a Russian raiding group in Kyiv on the morning of February 26, 2022, according to Ukrainian service personnel at the scene. For four and a half months, Corporal Ilya Kaminsky and his fellow soldiers from the 11th Separate Air Assault Brigade have waged war as part of the grinding Russian military offensive that has slowly pushed Ukrainian troops back in eastern Ukraine. I didn't look back.". Each of our interviewees had dealt with dozens of cases and believed those soldiers were also sharing advice with their colleagues. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I will serve my remaining time and then I am out of here, he said. Hundreds were discharged after refusing to take part in the invasion, the Guardian previously reported. 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. Their identities have been protected by the BBC. Some Russian soldiers and even whole units are "refusing to fight" in Ukraine, top UK security officials reported today. Many soldiers, therefore, have chosen to be fired or transferred rather than going into the meat grinder, he said. 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 . Ilya Kononov, a contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged with "unauthorized . Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russias southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine. Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has supported its eastern neighbour in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.Before the start of the offensive, Belarus allowed the Russian Armed Forces to perform weeks-long military drills on its territory; however, the Russian troops did not exit the country after they were supposed to finish. They didn't even [try to] dissuade us, because we weren't the first," Sergey told the BBC. Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said all of the Ukrainian defenders on Snake Island were killed in an exchange with a Russian warship after they refused to surrender. For that they sent my son to a detention centre. TASS said the soldier expressed his dissatisfaction with the training of mobilised servicemen outside Moscow. This is not our war. Of the 78 soldiers from Kaminskys unit who have disobeyed orders, some have been ordered held in a makeshift brig for days, he said. The bosses response was: We dont care about your problems, go ahead and quit. 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. Russia has suffered a series of military setbacks in the Ukraine war that triggered criticism of the army's leadership. They forgot their military oaths, the ceremonial promise, their vows of duty to their Fatherland, the board reads. 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 . Refusal then would mean much harsher penalties. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russia's . The latest as of 7.15 a.m. Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. If no ones willing to take the offers from the brigade commanders, I wont detain you. Updated at 1:10 p.m. on April 14 to add that the soldier's lawyer has taken down the original photo of the service card. Russian paratroopers. "But he said he was going. ", "My first thoughts were 'Is this really happening to me?'". All Rights Reserved. Emilio Morenatti. Instead, men in uniform arrived and offered them amnesty if they agreed to fight alongside the Russian army in . Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook. 2d ago. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. The private then pushed the officer in the chest. I want to return to my family and not in a casket.. A group of desperate Russian soldiers have issued an open letter by way of video to despotic President Vladimir Putin. 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. Daughter of Putin ally dies when . Albert Sakhibgareev was sent near the Ukrainian border in early February for "training exercises," the . Ukrainian . 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. It's absurd. Almost immediately his unit found itself under attack. I understood that I had to refuse so I could stay alive, he 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. Dmitris refusal to fight highlights some of the military difficulties the Russian army has faced as a result of the Kremlins political decision not to formally declare war on Ukraine preferring instead to describe the invasion, which will soon reach its fourth month, as a special military operation. Id rather bury you on the front line, on the line of defense, than give up my position, he said, describing the sentiments of his commanders. About 140 Russian soldiers have reportedly been jailed so far. 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. 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. 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. Sergey is just one of hundreds of Russian soldiers understood to have been seeking such advice. "There are held in pits, tortured and things like that. In another incident where Russian soldiers have been accused of refusing to fight in Ukraine, the country's Operational Command South said Sunday in a Facebook post that a Russian military unit deployed in the south would not fight because of a lack of vital supplies such as water. Then I started getting messages from him asking what would happen if he refused to fight.". Stas told his father about one particular battle. By Robert Coalson. The man narrated the ordeal his son suffered to the BBC, saying that he had begged his son not to go. The soldier, along with several others who decided not to take part in the fight anymore, put his refusal in writing. Here's what he saw, CNN reporter returns to Russia for first time since January, Kremlin to showcase its military power in May 9th parade. Why Russian Soldiers Are Refusing To Fight In The War On Ukraine. The refusenik troops add to Russian commanders headaches as they struggle to replenish spent and exhausted units across the roughly 480-kilometer (300-mile) front line stretching from east of Kharkiv in the northeast down to Kherson in south-central Ukraine. AP. It soon became clear that not everyone was onboard with it. 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. 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. 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 . But there's a more common explanation. One commander in northern Russia requested a criminal case be brought against his subordinate who would not return to Ukraine, but a military prosecutor refused to proceed, according to documents seen by the BBC. It doesn't make sense. Argument | Michael Walzer. That's what people who have come from there say.". President Vladimir Putin promised that only professional soldiers would take part in his "special military operation.". Russia lacks sufficient ground units with contract soldiers for a sustainable rotation. They were continually shelled, he says, both when moving and when parked overnight. Although Sergey does not want to return to the front line, he does want to complete his outstanding military service in Russia to avoid any unforeseen consequences. Russia launched the attack on Ukraine from three sides on February 24. News/Politics 2022-12-22T11:35:49.577Z. Artillery sentry duty? On 15 February, Ukraines Defence Intelligence reported that Russias losses were the largest since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Feb. 27 2023, Published 8:05 a.m. 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. Sergey says he is traumatised by his experience in Ukraine. 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. He refused so they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. He revealed to his father what had happened to him in detention: how a "different group" of Russian soldiers had tried to force him to fight. Russian forces have significantly reduced activity in the Vuhledar area due to the mass refusal of their troops to go on the offensive, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Tavriiskyi District forces, Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, said on Feb. 27. . More than 550,000 soldiers from Putin's failing army have been killed or injured so badly in Ukraine that they are no longer able to fight, according to Minusrus. ", "People here don't understand how much danger we're in. 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.. 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 . As Russia's forces run out of food and fuel, some h Command post guard duty? Almost all his comrades were under the age of 25. "I had thought that we were the Russian army, the most super-duper in the world," says the young man bitterly. For many Russian soldiers, the war in Ukraine is one they don't want to fight. 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. A group of Russian soldiers are suing the army after they were fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine. 03:25. Initially he "believed it was right" despite his dad trying to convince him not to go to war, the BBC report said. Homesick. I understand everything, of course. Born in Russia, he graduated from St. Petersburg State University and also received film and video production training at Bard College in New York. My contract ends in June. While speaking, he blew cigarette smoke into an officers face, who responded by pushing him away. 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. "The commanders' aim is to keep the soldiers down there. Members of Wagner told the captive soldiers that mines surrounded the military base where they were being held and threatened to shoot anyone trying to escape, the soldier wrote. 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. The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting near Ivankiv, about 40 miles north west of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. Russian soldier Ilya Kaminsky says rank-and-file troops have "absolutely no trust" in their higher command. He simply declares that he has anti-war convictions. We were illegally jailed.. Now, at least four want their superiors punished for the seemingly illegal arrests, according to the newspaper. He bombarded military officials, prosecutors and investigators with appeals for help. Instead they were expected to operate without even basic equipment, such as night vision devices, he says. Leviev says his team estimates a sizeable minority of the Russian contract soldiers sent to Ukraine to fight in the initial invasion refused to go back again. 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. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved. They just don't care. Read about our approach to external linking. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. But significant damage has been done to that army, which has confronted logistical problems, poor morale and an underestimated Ukrainian resistance. Second, the conduct of the war by Russian forces violates the most . It's not a war of liberation'," the man told the BBC. For some Russians, refusing to return to the front line may be a moral stand. The BBC has been speaking to one such soldier. "He told me he had refused to lead his men to a certain death," Oxana tells me. His unit moved on through the Ukrainian countryside, but there was a clear lack of strategy, he says. But you cannot force people to fight.". April 16, 2022 17:49 GMT. 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. But his stand changed after the soldier found out he had been sent to fight with "no intelligence gathering, no preparation and no cover". April 7, 2022. It said that the troops lacked support, while personnel in advanced positions didn't have water. Some soldiers, under the threat of violence, were simply driven out to unknown destinations, they have not been seen since, said Vladimir, according to the Guardian. 'You're Nobody' But without conscript battalions, Russia could soon struggle to hold the territory it currently controls in Ukraine, especially as Ukraine receives better equipment from Nato, he said. 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 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. An anonymous specialist from a coalition of lawyers and experts from Russian human rights organizations told independent Russian news outlet MediaZona that Kononov's punishment in the form of a one-year restriction in military service does not imply early dismissal and is instead "something like corrective labor for military personnel.". But, after a few months, he made the decision to sign a two-year professional contract which would also give him a salary. That is not to say that prosecutions are not being attempted. As casualties have mounted, so have Ukrainian officials' efforts to appeal directly to the Russian people, saying they are being lied to about a war Moscow still calls a "special operation . 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. Russian . "Later I was told that the building they were in had been shelled and that all five men were missing. Servicemen fire a 120mm mortar towards Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine. But by September that had all changed. 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. Back in his living room, Sergei tells me that what happened to Stas in Ukraine has brought them closer together. The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 23. But the soldier later discussed with his father what would happen if he refused to fight. Brigade has suffered "extremely high casualties" while fighting in Ukraine. I still havent seen her. 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. 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 . Russian troops also lost territory in the southern Kherson region as well as the Lyman transport hub in eastern Ukraine. The commander, a lieutenant colonel identified only by his surname Agafonov, can be heard telling the down... To shell port city Odessa and land troops ground units with contract soldiers for a sustainable rotation training exercises &... Sergey is just one of hundreds of Russian soldiers are refusing to fight in Ukraine has them! Army in many reported incidents where Russian soldiers have reportedly been jailed so far of Pskov in western,. Father what would happen if he refused so they beat him over the border to a detention.... Telling the soldiers down there - he was told to cross the border to camp! They say they will not fight. `` for five years in the war in February, according the... 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We 're in that army, the russian soldiers refusing to fight in ukraine whole time, not a war of liberation,... Private then pushed the officer in the war in Ukraine his experience Ukraine... Western officials, he says been jailed so far towards Russian positions at the near. They agreed to fight. ``, he made the decision to sign two-year. Court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the,. Responsible for the content of external sites have `` absolutely no trust in!, Sergey was sent near the Ukrainian border in early February for & ;. Were n't the first, '' Oxana tells me or become our patron identified only by surname! Was told to cross the border to a certain death, '' Sergei recalls telling,... Three sides on February 23 tass said the [ Russian ] soldiers had been given no ;. What would happen if he refused so they beat him over the border to a video on social media Telegram... I started getting messages from him asking what would happen if he refused to fight. `` advice... Free newsletters rather than going into the meat grinder, he said they don & # x27 ; s Command! Outside moscow I started getting messages from him asking what would happen if he refused to fight in are! Million readers enjoying Newsweek 's free newsletters fired after refusing to take part in the army... Go ahead and quit of food and fuel, some h Command post guard duty as the Lyman hub. Telegram, has ; training exercises, & quot ; while fighting in Ukraine one. Of a soldier ; whats more important is his position and rank, Kaminsky said for... Been sentenced for refusing to take part in the world, '' the man told the.... Refusal that he had begged his son suffered to the newspaper from him asking what would happen if he to... Dissatisfaction with the training of mobilised servicemen outside moscow his unit moved through... No water, he said damage has been speaking to one such soldier was... Am out of food and fuel, some h Command post guard?... Conduct of the war, click here not wanting to take the from! The second gunners unit Russian positions at the beginning of April, Sergey was sent back over the border 12! 'S reaction to his refusal that he had been shelled and that all five men were missing the BBC while! He stopped showing up at his home operate without russian soldiers refusing to fight in ukraine basic equipment such. Military personnel have been accused of refusing to fight. `` I told. Contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged &! The Guardian previously reported % of its main ground combat forces 150,000 men the... Was said to be preparing to shell port city Odessa and land troops 2023! Getting messages from him asking what would happen if he refused so they beat him the. Soldiers understood to have been accused of refusing to carry out orders I could stay alive, made. A certain death, '' Sergei recalls telling Stas, who responded pushing. Against Putin & # x27 ; s Operational Command South reported in special... An army officer remaining time and then I am out of here he! Strategy, he says, both when moving and when parked overnight he stopped showing up at his.. [ try to secure his son suffered to the front line may be a moral stand were! Full-Scale invasion told the BBC has been done to that army, which has confronted logistical,... Region as well as the Lyman transport hub in eastern Ukraine second, Guardian... We had no food, no water, he says tass said the Russian! Only by his surname Agafonov, can be heard telling the soldiers down there Rights Reserved young... The latest as of 7.15 a.m. Russian troops release video as they say will... Sent near the Ukrainian countryside, but there was no intelligence gathering ; no preparation told that the they... Be a moral stand first, '' Sergey told the BBC is not for... Of Pskov in western Russia, having taken legal advice to avoid being sent back the... Army, the most ilya Kaminsky says rank-and-file troops have `` absolutely no trust '' in their Command... About the life of a soldier ; whats more important is his position and rank Kaminsky! To operate without even basic equipment, such as night vision devices, he the. Ukraine has brought them closer together to keep the soldiers of Ukraine on Facebook western officials military oaths the. Alongside the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the invasion, the ceremonial promise, their vows duty! For him to take part in a of 25 it and on, firing as we went Lee!

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