All asked that their names be withheld for fear of further punishment or retaliation by commanders. Emilio Morenatti. While the exact number of soldiers refusing to fight remains unclear, such stories illustrate what military experts and western governments say is one of Russias biggest obstacles in Ukraine: a severe shortage of infantry soldiers. Soldiers from Ukraines Special Operations Forces and the 72nd Separate Mechanised Brigade destroyed pieces of Russian equipment and captured two Russian servicemen near Vuhledar on 23 February. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook. 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. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the occupiers are not able to resolve problems with manning their units. Instead, men in uniform arrived and offered them amnesty if they agreed to fight alongside the Russian army in . Many soldiers, therefore, have chosen to be fired or transferred rather than going into the meat grinder, he said. The arrests of the soldiers, whose . If a soldier acts according to such procedures, then he cannot be criminally prosecuted for this. But, he had been sufficiently worried about his unit's reaction to his refusal that he decided to seek legal advice. Then I started getting messages from him asking what would happen if he refused to fight.". We didn't leave anyone in the rear, so if someone decided to come in from behind and hit us there was no protection. "So many people don't . "The commanders' aim is to keep the soldiers down there. According to the head of his military commandant's office, Kononov was found at his place of residence with a friend after a search. ", "My first thoughts were 'Is this really happening to me?'". A group of desperate Russian soldiers have issued an open letter by way of video to despotic President Vladimir Putin. They don't care about the life of a soldier; whats more important is his position and rank, Kaminsky said. Because there are no criminal articles for requesting the termination of a contract based on anti-war beliefs, Krivenko told Current Time. 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 . In . Deployed to Ukraine in July, Andrei was placed in detention for refusing to carry out orders. Soldiers like Sergey - reluctant to return to the front line - are not unusual, according to Ruslan Leviev, the editor of Conflict Intelligence Team, a media project investigating the experiences of the Russian military in Ukraine through confidential interviews and open source material. (Reuters Photo) Russian soldiers fighting the war in Ukraine are in disarray and crying as they are asked to "fire at . Journalists fight on their own frontline. I signed a contract. He said he would put his refusal in writing. A Russian soldier who refused to fight in the war in Ukraine was allegedly beaten and locked up by his own comrades, according to a report. 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. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Honestly, we had to supply ourselves with food. The URL has been copied to your clipboard. At the beginning of April, Sergey was sent back over the border to a camp on the Russian side. 2023 BBC. 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 The attack is doubly unjust. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. "So off he went to Ukraine. 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. I still havent seen her. 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. Russias troops in Ukraine are largely made up of contract soldiers: volunteer personnel who sign fixed-term contracts for service. 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. He refused so they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. The men, who belonged to the key headquarters of the Pskov . 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. Ilya Kononov, a contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged with "unauthorized . "Those refusing to fight are doing so because they've had more than their fair share of front line action," explains Elena Popova. 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. He believed it was right. The discontent in Kaminskys 11th Brigade is not an isolated case, and there are indications that Russian commanders are trying different tactics to keep the problem from spiraling out of control: for example, publicly shaming soldiers who are refusing to fight. 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. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. It caught fire and there were [Russian] soldiers inside. We didnt have normal munitions, no flak jackets or helmets. I told him that he was a zombie. Ukrainian . 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Servicemen fire a 120mm mortar towards Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine. Kononov said he stopped showing up at his unit and, instead, spent time with his friend at his home. The young Russian was among those men who enlisted. I want to return to my family and not in a casket.. April 7, 2022. "He said the [Russian] soldiers had been given no cover; there was no intelligence gathering; no preparation. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him. A junior sergeant said he was injured during one of the recent Ukrainian attacks on the Russian border territory where he was stationed. But significant damage has been done to that army, which has confronted logistical problems, poor morale and an underestimated Ukrainian resistance. Critics have said many mobilised men hardly had any battlefield experience and have received little training before being sent to the front. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. 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. DeSantis won't say he's running. Approximately 60 paratroopers from Russia's Pskov region have refused to be deployed to Ukraine, newspaper Pskovskaya . Jan 27, 2023. When his son was sent to fight in Ukraine, Sergei begged him not to go. And there is no guarantee that more prosecutions might not emerge in the future. "It's a way of making people go back into that bloodbath," says Elena Popova from Russia's Movement of Conscientious Objectors. 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. Daughter of Putin ally dies when . The troops are getting exhausted they wont be able to keep this up for a long period.. 27-year-old Chinese man struggles to find job because he l King Charles to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage so he can give it to Andrew, 'Elvis' star Austin Butler was rushed to ER after 'body just started shutting down', Woke Chicago mayor loses re-election bid as city battles crime epidemic, King Charles evicting Harry, Meghan from Frogmore Cottage, giving to Andrew, Hoda Kotbs lengthy Today show absence caused by family health matter, Ed Sheerans wife, Cherry Seaborn, was diagnosed with tumor during pregnancy, Heroic bus driver saves student from passing car, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of Today After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell 'Spare' released. The Russian defense ministry didnt respond to the Guardians request for comment. 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 . Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. "This is all nonsense and fake claims and there is nothing to back them up with. 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 . "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . Like us on Facebook to see similar stories . 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. Nearly all . Produced by Will Vernon. The commanders know only violence and intimidation. Sergey is just one of hundreds of Russian soldiers understood to have been seeking such advice. ", "We do not have any problems with soldiers leaving combat positions," the Kremlin leader continued. Independent Russian media have also been reporting hundreds of cases of soldiers refusing repeat deployments to Ukraine since the beginning of April. In all, 78 soldiers including Kaminsky openly challenged his orders, and demanded to be either sent home or reassigned, he said. Moscow's war is unjust, but there's no moral obligation for soldiers to refuse to fight. 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". Feb. 27 2023, Published 8:05 a.m. 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. 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. We arent officially in a state of war, so they could not force me to go.. But the soldier later discussed with his father what would happen if he refused to fight. It is unfair, I am fighting in this war just as the others in Ukraine, risking my life, the soldier said. Separately, a military tribunal said it sentenced Kandarov to five years behind bars for evading military service during mobilisation for more than a month. The soldier is in the unit, hes not running away anywhere. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a . Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. As Russia has faced a surprisingly effective resistance from Ukraine, there have been reports of low soldier morale and chaos among the commanding ranks. Initially he "believed it was right" despite his dad trying to convince him not to go to war, the BBC report said. Later that month he received an order to return to Ukraine - but told his commander that he was not prepared to go. Im warning you, this is a final offer, he is heard telling the soldiers. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) A U.S. Army veteran from Wisconsin died on Feb. 16 while fighting on the . About 60 Russian paratroopers mutinied and refused to fight in Ukraine, according to Russian press reports related to Putin's government. The key headquarters of the Pskov deployments to Ukraine in July, Andrei was placed in for. Hardly had any battlefield experience and have received little training before being sent to the Guardians request comment! Open letter by way of video to despotic President Vladimir Putin camp the... ; s Pskov region have refused to fight in Ukraine, risking my life, the occupiers are able. 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