russian soldiers refusing to fight in ukraine

A Warner Bros. But from our own side.". A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was . 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. Russian soldier Ilya Kaminsky says rank-and-file troops have "absolutely no trust . Law enforcement located the man, Marsel Kandarov, in September, the statement added. 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. Frank Gardner looks at what lies ahead as winter arrives in Ukraine. I have nothing to be ashamed of. 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. A video of the incident that circulated online showed the soldier complaining of poor training, using obscenities, and calling the drills an imitation. All his bravado has gone. In phone conversations with Current Time, he said troops were not granted any leave for 4 1/2 months, even as the losses and casualties for the brigade mounted: Up to half of the brigades personnel -- around 1,000 -- have been either killed or wounded in action, he said. Ukraine's Operational Command South reported in a . The enemy has somewhat reduced its activity for the fourth day, he said. He had helped oversee fighting in eastern Ukraine. They didn't even [try to] dissuade us, because we weren't the first," Sergey told the BBC. 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 were furious. 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. . Kononov said he stopped showing up at his unit and, instead, spent time with his friend at his home. 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. The URL has been copied to your clipboard. The young Russian was among those men who enlisted. We've received your submission. A Russian soldier was sentenced in July for refusing to fight in the Ukraine war. 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. My daughter was born three months ago. Brigade commanders ask who wants to guard the second gunners unit. 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 attack is doubly unjust. The official warned that the next phase of the war was likely to be an "attritional conflict" which could last . Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much But the soldier later discussed with his father what would happen if he refused to fight. The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Putin ordered the invasion of 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. 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 . By India Today Web Desk: As Russian troops try to take control over Ukraine's capital Kyiv, residents of the city are taking up arms to stand in the fight along with the country's military against Moscow's invasion.India Today's Rajesh Pawar visited an office of the Territorial Defence Forces in the city, where citizens are being equipped with weapons to defend against and fight off the . 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. 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. But he stresses that Russian military law does include clauses which allow soldiers to refuse to fight if they don't want to. The way my son was treated wasn't only illegal, it was inhuman.". 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. 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. Because there are no criminal articles for requesting the termination of a contract based on anti-war beliefs, Krivenko told Current Time. It said that the troops lacked support, while personnel in advanced positions didn't have water. "We went without helicopters - just in a column, as though we were heading to a parade.". By Robert Coalson. TASS said the soldier expressed his dissatisfaction with the training of mobilised servicemen outside Moscow. Alexander Avilov / Moskva News Agency. Instead, men in uniform arrived and offered them amnesty if they agreed to fight alongside the Russian army in . A Russian serviceman takes part in military exercises outside the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the Russian Far East on September 4. ", "We do not have any problems with soldiers leaving combat positions," the Kremlin leader continued. Quote from the General Staff: "Troops from the so-called . 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. Im warning you, this is a final offer, he is heard telling the soldiers. For that they sent my son to a detention centre. But after a certain adaptation period, our men fight brilliantly.". There are no legal grounds to start a criminal case if a soldier refuses to fight while on Russian territory.. We arent officially in a state of war, so they could not force me to go.. 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. My contract ends in June. I told him that he was a zombie. Just refuse," Sergei recalls telling Stas, who was already an army officer. 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. The Russian defense ministry didnt respond to the Guardians request for comment. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, Quote from the General Staff: "Troops from the so-called volunteer Cossack Detachment, attached to the 155th Marine Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet, are refusing to continue to take part in offensive operations due to the failure of the offensive and significant personnel losses near Vuhledar.". 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. In his conversations with Current Time, Kaminsky lamented what he described as commanders callous disregard for the wellbeing of their troops. 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". 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. Russia has suffered a series of military setbacks in the Ukraine war that triggered criticism of the army's leadership. Read about our approach to external linking. Sergey is just one of hundreds of Russian soldiers understood to have been seeking such advice. 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. 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. Ilya Kononov, a contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged with "unauthorized . Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. But I was thinking, Im still young; at any moment, a piece of shrapnel, a bullet could fly into my head. This is not our war. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russias southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine. Separately, a military tribunal said it sentenced Kandarov to five years behind bars for evading military service during mobilisation for more than a month. A stamp that was purportedly placed in the military-service booklet of one soldier who refused to serve in Ukraine. Russian authorities quietly stepped up their efforts to recruit new soldiers as it became clear that a quick victory in Ukraine was unattainable. "Some soldiers, under the . CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflictin Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin touts success, yet some ofhis soldiers refuse to fight. Russian troops also lost territory in the southern Kherson region as well as the Lyman transport hub in eastern Ukraine. 2023 BBC. Human rights activist Sergei Krivenko says he is not aware of any prosecutions of those refusing to return to the front. It is, first of all, a classic example of military aggression; it is a war without a just cause. 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. If no ones willing to take the offers from the brigade commanders, I wont detain you. 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. AP. "He told me he had refused to lead his men to a certain death," Oxana tells me. A Russian fleet was said to be preparing to shell port city Odessa and land troops. 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 . That's what people who have come from there say.". News/Politics 2022-12-22T11:35:49.577Z. Other units include troops from private military companies like Vagner, or specialized, semiautonomous units overseen by Chechnyas strongman leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. Earlier Ukraines General Staff reported that invading Russian forces were seeing mass desertion among its troops amid Ukrainian military successes. Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. 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'd rather go to jail than fight in Ukraine', Surgeons operate on baby in Kyiv blackout, Station master arrested after dozens killed in Greece train crash, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, India anti-corruption crusader fighting to clear his name, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. "You've got relatives there. Some large government-run companies have received letters urging them to sign up their staff for the army. Some Russian soldiers and even whole units are "refusing to fight" in Ukraine, top UK security officials reported today. President Vladimir Putin promised that only professional soldiers would take part in his "special military operation.". The president announced what he called a "partial mobilisation", drafting hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens into the armed forces. 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. 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. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. In October, a new general was appointed to lead Russia's offensive. A Russian court sentenced Marsel Kandarov to five years in prison for refusing to take part in the special military operation. After that, I wont look at any new offers.. A month later - 24 February, the day Russia launched its invasion - he was told to cross the border. April 16, 2022 17:49 GMT. 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. The beach, just north of Odessa in southern Ukraine, was defended with mines and anti-tank hedgehogs. 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. All Rights Reserved. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook. Then I got a text message saying he and four other officers had been put in a basement. Russia has also turned to mercenaries to bolster its war efforts, deploying fighters from the shadowy Kremlin-linked Wagner group. Journalists fight on their own frontline. 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. 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. For some Russians, refusing to return to the front line may be a moral stand. 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 know only violence and intimidation. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Reports of Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine are also mounting. Initially he "believed it was right" despite his dad trying to convince him not to go to war, the BBC report said. 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. Ukrainian media claims a "riot" broke out on the warships, based in nearby Crimea.. At the same time, a number of Russian helicopters and drones were flying over Luzanivka beach, preparing for landing.. Rumours abound of some Russian soldiers defying orders and refusing to cross into Ukraine to fight. But by September that had all changed. Ukrainians have been asked to avoid going near windows or on balconies and be . Russia struggles to replenish its troops in Ukraine. I understand everything, of course. Russian . Source: cnnespanol All news articles on 2023-02-28 You may like. Anybody want it? the commander, a lieutenant colonel identified only by his surname Agafonov, can be heard telling the soldiers. 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