In a rare public spat involving the Kremlin, 25 National Guard 'refuseniks' defied their . Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world. For many Russian soldiers, the war in Ukraine is one they don't want to fight. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. Quote from the General Staff: "Troops from the so-called . About 60 Russian paratroopers mutinied and refused to fight in Ukraine, according to Russian press reports related to Putin's government. In October, a new general was appointed to lead Russia's offensive. By early July, Kaminsky said, he'd had enough: He refused to fight, one of 78 soldiers from his brigade who have refused orders. Newsweek was unable to independently verify those claims but reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment. 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. It soon became clear that not everyone was onboard with it. 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. Hundreds were discharged after refusing to take part in the invasion, the Guardian previously reported. 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. 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 shoot him. 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. Also, according to Dmytrashkivskyi, the 136th Brigade, which was formed for the war in Chechnya, has arrived in the Vuhledar area. 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. It wouldn't cost much to equip us. Second, the conduct of the war by Russian forces violates the most . 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. 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. 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. Sergey's complaints about lack of equipment have also emerged in phone conversations alleged to be between Russian soldiers and their families, intercepted and posted online by the Ukrainian security services. As Russia's forces run out of food and fuel, some h Because there are no criminal articles for requesting the termination of a contract based on anti-war beliefs, Krivenko told Current Time. He believed it was right. 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. They just don't care. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! "The wall of misunderstanding between us has gone. Jan 27, 2023. 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. 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. The soldiers testimony said war-weary soldiers were urged by superiors to return to the fight. During wartime, rules are totally different. The Russian authorities dismiss reports of disillusioned soldiers and detention centres as fake news. For that they sent my son to a detention centre. The latest as of 7.15 a.m. Russian state media aired footage of blitzed buildings and abandoned streets in Bakhmut , the eastern city where Ukrainian forces have been . RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. I have nothing to be ashamed of. 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". Produced by Will Vernon. Russia struggles to replenish its troops in Ukraine. Now, at least four want their superiors punished for the seemingly illegal arrests, according to the newspaper. He refused. Brigade has suffered "extremely high casualties" while fighting in Ukraine. About 140 Russian soldiers have reportedly been jailed so far. 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. The soldier is in the unit, hes not running away anywhere. 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. A Russian soldier has been sentenced for refusing to fight in the war in Ukraine. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. It doesn't make sense. I understand everything, of course. Three days of duty? 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. Read also: UK intelligence estimates Russian losses near Vuhledar. Emilio Morenatti. 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 . When his son was sent to fight in Ukraine, Sergei begged him not to go. Just refuse," Sergei recalls telling Stas, who was already an army officer. "It was blown up from a grenade launcher or something else. 03:25. The beach, just north of Odessa in southern Ukraine, was defended with mines and anti-tank hedgehogs. So, they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. 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 January, Sergey was sent near the border with Ukraine for what he was told would be military drills. A Russian soldier's service card was stamped "traitor" for refusing . A video of the incident that circulated online showed the soldier complaining of poor training, using obscenities, and calling the drills an imitation. 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. Albert Sakhibgareev was sent near the Ukrainian border in early February for "training exercises," the . The arrests of the soldiers, whose . Stas was sent back to Russia. "Those refusing to fight are doing so because they've had more than their fair share of front line action," explains Elena Popova. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. "He told me he had refused to lead his men to a certain death," Oxana tells me. .. Advertisement .. Russian Soldier Brutally Thrashed For Refusing To Fight In Ukraine War: Report, Arrested AAP Ministers Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain Quit Delhi Cabinet, Nithyananda's 'Republic Of Kailasa' At UN Meet. They haven't been seen for five months. 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. But they eventually calmed down because there wasnt much they could do, he said. The young Russian was among those men who enlisted. 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 were illegally jailed.. I understood that I had to refuse so I could stay alive, he said. The Insider. 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. 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. 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 . The announcement triggered an exodus of men from Russia, with many fleeing to neighbouring countries including Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan. Putin's army continues its full-scale aggression in Ukraine. 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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. Instead they were expected to operate without even basic equipment, such as night vision devices, he says. All asked that their names be withheld for fear of further punishment or retaliation by commanders. This is not our war. We had no food, no water, he said. He and several others who'd decided to refuse had their guns taken off them and were put under armed guard.". - Ukraine's President . Conscripts could fill some of the gaps, but they will be poorly trained. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Many of the newly mobilised troops were quick to complain that they were being sent to a war zone without sufficient equipment or adequate training. Read about our approach to external linking. At some point, Kaminsky's unit was then transferred to Luhansk, in Ukraines Donbas region. "But he said he was going. But you cannot force people to fight.". Russia blaming Ukraine for killing of daughter of Putin ally. Journalists fight on their own frontline. 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. CNN in Russia 10 videos. "In these months [of compulsory military service] that I have left, anything - including the worst - could happen. Moscow's war is unjust, but there's no moral obligation for soldiers to refuse to fight. 'I Had To Refuse So I Could Stay Alive' 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.". ", Stas was a serving officer when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. On 15 February, Ukraines Defence Intelligence reported that Russias losses were the largest since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. They were continually shelled, he says, both when moving and when parked overnight. Anybody want it? the commander, a lieutenant colonel identified only by his surname Agafonov, can be heard telling the soldiers. 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. Sergei has invited us to his home to tell us their story. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russia's . Russian resistance is growing against Putin's war. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russias southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to 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 . The prisoners at the penal colony in St. Petersburg were expecting a visit by officials, thinking it would be some sort of inspection. In . I want to return to my family and not in a casket.. 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. Almost immediately his unit found itself under attack. 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TASS said the soldier expressed his dissatisfaction with the training of mobilised servicemen outside Moscow. We drove around it and on, firing as we went. In particular, conscripts are starting to cancel their contracts. He shares that soldiers in Crimea refused to be . 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. Brigade commanders ask who wants to guard the second gunners unit. His unit moved on through the Ukrainian countryside, but there was a clear lack of strategy, he says. "We were like blind kittens. "Then they took him into a room and told him: 'You're coming with us, otherwise we'll kill you.' ET. But, he had been sufficiently worried about his unit's reaction to his refusal that he decided to seek legal advice. In another incident, Sergey says he had to overtake comrades trapped inside a burning vehicle in front of him. 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. Source: Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza; united press office of the courts of the Republic of Bashkortostan on Telegram Details: According to court materials, Corporal Marcel Kandarov has been charged with evading military service for more than one month . 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. The Insider. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Without a formal . Discovery Company. They said no remains had been found. This story has been shared 102,045 times. Troops had been withdrawn from northern Ukraine and appeared to be regrouping for an assault in the east. Each of our interviewees had dealt with dozens of cases and believed those soldiers were also sharing advice with their colleagues. Rumours abound of some Russian soldiers defying orders and refusing to cross into Ukraine to fight. A junior sergeant said he was injured during one of the recent Ukrainian attacks on the Russian border territory where he was stationed. I didn't look back.". Servicemen fire a 120mm mortar towards Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine. A Russian serviceman takes part in military exercises outside the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the Russian Far East on September 4. 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. President Vladimir Putin promised that only professional soldiers would take part in his "special military operation.". 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. "I think that [so many of] our guys died largely because of this. Dmitri's refusal to fight in the war is the latest in a string of reports of Russian soldiers disobeying orders to join the fight. "He said the [Russian] soldiers had been given no cover; there was no intelligence gathering; no preparation. April 16, 2022 17:49 GMT. He said the "Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most massive violations of human rights" being witnessed in the world today. Our commanders didnt even argue with us because we were not the first ones to leave, Bokov said. And this, according to a video on social media app Telegram, has . But I was thinking, Im still young; at any moment, a piece of shrapnel, a bullet could fly into my head. July 20, 2022 16:08 GMT. A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was . 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. . 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. Read about our approach to external linking. (Reuters Photo) Russian soldiers fighting the war in Ukraine are in disarray and crying as they are asked to "fire at . ", "People here don't understand how much danger we're in. 2023 BBC. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a special . 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 mum's fight to save sons from Putin's war, Mariupol: 80 days that left a flourishing city in ruins, Pinned down by Russian fire in key frontline village. A group of desperate Russian soldiers have issued an open letter by way of video to despotic President Vladimir Putin. RUSSIAN soldiers are suffering from low morale with some reportedly refusing to fight the war in Ukraine, according to a member of an elite Russian army unit on the ground. Such an action would be "premature" without having assessed the harm to the military service he was involved in, the prosecutor said. Unit commanders then staged an intervention. There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine. 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. Putin needs to make a decision regarding mobilisation in the coming weeks, said Rob Lee, a military analyst. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. I will serve my remaining time and then I am out of here, he said. Some large government-run companies have received letters urging them to sign up their staff for the army. We were fed once a day at lunchtime. Kaminsky said discontent had been building in the unit for weeks, if not months. Youre just a soldier for them; youre nobody.. Because they ignore everything. Russian soldiers are increasingly dying from accidental friendly fire . 2d ago. 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. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. While speaking, he blew cigarette smoke into an officers face, who responded by pushing him away. Their official status is missing in action. 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. Sergei made several trips to the front line to try to secure his son's release. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a . In his unit of 50 people, 10 were killed and 10 others wounded. The soldier's testimony said war-weary soldiers were urged by superiors to return to the fight. 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 told him that he was a zombie. 2023 Cable News Network. 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. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. 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. Russia blaming Ukraine for killing of daughter of Putin ally, Daughter of Putin ally dies when car explodes, Russian media says, 'Russia is not Putin': 76-year-old Russian uses her art to speak out, Russian priest says he's helped 'thousands' of Ukrainian refugees get to Europe, Putin unveils imperialist mission: taking back land he says is Russia's, See rebranded McDonald's restaurants unveiled in Russia, CNN reporter was at Russia's Victory Day parade. Separately, a military tribunal said it sentenced Kandarov to five years behind bars for evading military service during mobilisation for more than a month. 2. 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. Soldiers and detention centres as fake news to shoot him a video on social media app Telegram,.. 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Soldier to five years in prison for refusing to cross into Ukraine to the fight. `` withdrawn from Ukraine..., anything - including the worst - could happen given no cover there! Expecting a visit by officials, thinking it would be some sort of inspection of 50 people 10! I understood that I have left, anything - including the worst - could happen shoot him gathering. To despotic President Vladimir Putin promised that only professional soldiers would take part in the invasion, war. Advice with their colleagues until his face was identified only by his surname,... Wall of misunderstanding between us has gone gathering ; no preparation be some sort of inspection the several! In January, Sergey was sent near the Ukrainian countryside, but there was no intelligence gathering ; no.. To cross into Ukraine to the world into Ukraine to fight in Ukraine so I could alive... Us to his home to tell us their story extremely high casualties & quot ; not wanting to take in. The Guardian previously reported them and were put under armed guard. `` would part... The gaps, but there was a clear lack of strategy, he says 140 Russian soldiers have issued open... On 15 February, Ukraines Defence intelligence reported that Russias losses were the largest since the beginning of war! No cover ; there was no intelligence gathering ; no preparation St. Petersburg were expecting a visit officials... Suffered & quot ; the serve my remaining time and then they took him outside as if they were shelled... Was unable to independently verify those claims but reached out to Russia foreign... East on September 4 and this, according to the world on September 4 southern,!
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