He simply declares that he has anti-war convictions. The Insider. And while the current status of the conflict gives Russian soldiers a legal path to refuse participation, some soldiers have complained that it has also led to them not being adequately cared for. Some troops are refusing orders, walking away from military bases or crossing the border into Ukraine and switching sides, media reports show. Their identities have been protected by the BBC. 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. Other units include troops from private military companies like Vagner, or specialized, semiautonomous units overseen by Chechnyas strongman leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. Eventually his efforts paid off. Russians might be in favour of the conflict, but they dont actually want to fight, he said, adding that a general mobilisation would entail colossal losses of untrained soldiers. They were furious. 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. Stas, an army officer, had written a letter to the . 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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. The code has been copied to your clipboard. For the remainder, however, unit commanders ordered them arrested, and held in a makeshift brig in the Luhansk region, according to Kaminsky, where they were being given food only once a day. This is not our war. Images by Anton Chicherov. 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. 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. Sergey says he is traumatised by his experience in Ukraine. 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. "We rushed forward with short overnight stays, without trenches, without reconnaissance. Artillery sentry duty? It's not just Ukrainians resisting Vladimir . Almost all his comrades were under the age of 25. But you cannot force people to fight.". But I was thinking, Im still young; at any moment, a piece of shrapnel, a bullet could fly into my head. Sergei has invited us to his home to tell us their story. Fewer and fewer Russian servicemen want to fight for the Kremlin's invading plans. Im warning you, this is a final offer, he is heard telling the soldiers. In . He told me his face was covered in blood. 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. Albert Sakhibgareev was sent near the Ukrainian border in early February for "training exercises," the . One year from the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, a Catholic priest recounted how a Ukrainian soldier was spared from being killed by . Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. 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. He was soon transferred to Belgorod, a Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, where he has been stationed since. But his stand changed after the soldier found out he had been sent to fight with "no intelligence gathering, no preparation and no cover". Newsweek was unable to independently verify those claims but reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment. A Russian soldier's service card was stamped "traitor" for refusing . "He told me he had refused to lead his men to a certain death," Oxana tells me. Read about our approach to external linking. But he stresses that Russian military law does include clauses which allow soldiers to refuse to fight if they don't want to. 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. Read also: UK intelligence estimates Russian losses near Vuhledar. Reinforcements failed to arrive and soldiers were poorly equipped for the task of taking a large city. 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. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook. It soon became clear that not everyone was onboard with it. I understood that I had to refuse so I could stay alive, he said. That is not to say that prosecutions are not being attempted. Because they ignore everything. Three days of duty? 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. "The commanders' aim is to keep the soldiers down there. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. I have nothing to be ashamed of. For some Russians, refusing to return to the front line may be a moral stand. Brigade commanders ask who wants to guard the second gunners unit. We had no food, no water, he said. Lee said one option for the Kremlin would be to authorise the deployment of conscript units to Ukraine, despite Putins earlier pledges that Russia would not use any conscripts in the war. Under Russian military rules, troops who refuse to fight in Ukraine can face dismissal but cannot be prosecuted, said Mikhail Benyash, a lawyer who has been advising soldiers who choose that option. "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. But significant damage has been done to that army, which has confronted logistical problems, poor morale and an underestimated Ukrainian resistance. Nearly all . Feb. 27 2023, Published 8:05 a.m. Did you encounter any technical issues? Some large government-run companies have received letters urging them to sign up their staff for the army. The young Russian was among those men who enlisted. Command post guard duty? "I can see that the war continues, it is not going away," he told the BBC. But from our own side.". April 7, 2022. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. The soldier said he broke his contract and resigned from the brigade before the February 24 invasion, once he realized it was in fact going forward. 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. A Warner Bros. 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. But they eventually calmed down because there wasnt much they could do, he 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. Andrei, a Russian lieutenant, stopped fighting. Despite speculation beforehand, Putin did not formally declare war on Ukraine during his Victory Day speech on 9 May. Source: cnnespanol All news articles on 2023-02-28 You may like. 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 . The range of experience varies. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflictin Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin touts success, yet some ofhis soldiers refuse to fight. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . But the soldier later discussed with his father what would happen if he refused to fight. In all, 78 soldiers including Kaminsky openly challenged his orders, and demanded to be either sent home or reassigned, he said. Rumours abound of some Russian soldiers defying orders and refusing to cross into Ukraine to fight. 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. Later that month he received an order to return to Ukraine - but told his commander that he was not prepared to go. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . 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. Ukrainian soldiers move on the road in the freed territory in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. Ukraine's Operational Command South reported in a . Quote from the General Staff: "Troops from the so-called . 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. 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. Im supposed to be ready for any situation; this war, this special operation, one soldier wrote. The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. The prisoners at the penal colony in St. Petersburg were expecting a visit by officials, thinking it would be some sort of inspection. But by September that had all changed. 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. 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. Human rights activist Sergei Krivenko says he is not aware of any prosecutions of those refusing to return to the front. "It was blown up from a grenade launcher or something else. Once again, we have changed their names. 'I'm Warning You, This Is A Final Offer' Russian . 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. . "But refusing to fight was a difficult decision for him to take. The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. Russia has also turned to mercenaries to bolster its war efforts, deploying fighters from the shadowy Kremlin-linked Wagner group. There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine. 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. 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 . I'm shocked by our army. 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. I will serve my remaining time and then I am out of here, he said. But that means that - while his letter of refusal to fight was accepted - there are no guarantees he won't be sent back to Ukraine during his service period. Anybody want it? the commander, a lieutenant colonel identified only by his surname Agafonov, can be heard telling the soldiers. 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