Mr. Putin had resisted ordering a mobilization for months, but his decision underscored the Kremlin's struggles on the battlefield, where more than 80,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or . The soldiers testimony said war-weary soldiers were urged by superiors to return to the fight. Not from the opposing side. I understand everything, of course. 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. 03:25. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him. 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 . Of the 78 soldiers from Kaminskys unit who have disobeyed orders, some have been ordered held in a makeshift brig for days, he said. He's changed completely. Sergey was told that returning to the unit was important because simply leaving could be interpreted as desertion, which can result in a two-year sentence in a disciplinary battalion. Separately, a military tribunal in Moscow sentenced a soldier to five years and six months in a penal colony for beating an officer during an argument, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday. The soldier's testimony said war-weary soldiers were urged by superiors to return to the fight. But you have until 6 p.m. today. Emilio Morenatti. 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. 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. Discovery Company. Ukrainians have been asked to avoid going near windows or on balconies and be . They would be looking at time in prison.. ", "People here don't understand how much danger we're in. 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. 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. 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. We've received your submission. Anyone? On 15 February, Ukraines Defence Intelligence reported that Russias losses were the largest since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Brigade commanders ask who wants to guard the second gunners unit. Each of our interviewees had dealt with dozens of cases and believed those soldiers were also sharing advice with their colleagues. "It was blown up from a grenade launcher or something else. The BBC has been speaking to one such soldier. 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. It's not just Ukrainians resisting Vladimir . "We were like blind kittens. 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. That is not to say that prosecutions are not being attempted. So, they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. 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 all, 78 soldiers including Kaminsky openly challenged his orders, and demanded to be either sent home or reassigned, he said. We were fed once a day at lunchtime. It's not a war of liberation.' The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. 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.". Russian rights activists say hundreds, possibly thousands of troops are balking at orders to deploy, to keep fighting, or to remain on the battlefield without rotating out or home. 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. A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was . (Reuters Photo) Russian soldiers fighting the war in Ukraine are in disarray and crying as they are asked to "fire at . In his conversations with Current Time, Kaminsky lamented what he described as commanders callous disregard for the wellbeing of their troops. 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 . In his unit of 50 people, 10 were killed and 10 others wounded. The beach, just north of Odessa in southern Ukraine, was defended with mines and anti-tank hedgehogs. Without a formal . Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. 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 . The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 23. The airline carrier Wizz Air has announced it will . There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine. 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. . According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the occupiers are not able to resolve problems with manning their units. 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. The attack is doubly unjust. The announcement triggered an exodus of men from Russia, with many fleeing to neighbouring countries including Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan. TASS said the soldier expressed his dissatisfaction with the training of mobilised servicemen outside Moscow. I will serve my remaining time and then I am out of here, he said. Russia struggles to replenish its troops in Ukraine. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. The latest as of 7.15 a.m. The commanders know only violence and intimidation. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russias southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine. Why Russian Soldiers Are Refusing To Fight In The War On Ukraine. It soon became clear that not everyone was onboard with it. 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. 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.". Images by Anton Chicherov. Also, according to Dmytrashkivskyi, the 136th Brigade, which was formed for the war in Chechnya, has arrived in the Vuhledar area. Second, the conduct of the war by Russian forces violates the most . Reports of Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine are also mounting. An investigation by the BBCs Russian service showed that Russias defence ministry filled employment websites with vacancies, offering people with no combat experience opportunities to join the army on lucrative short-term contracts. At some point, Kaminsky's unit was then transferred to Luhansk, in Ukraines Donbas region. Nearly all . 2023 BBC. 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 . These people are ready for anything. 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. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. By The Associated Press August 11, 2022. While speaking, he blew cigarette smoke into an officers face, who responded by pushing him away. Army commanders try to intimidate contract soldiers into staying with their units, according to Russian human rights lawyer Alexei Tabalov. "So off he went to Ukraine. Instead they were expected to operate without even basic equipment, such as night vision devices, he says. Russian paratroopers. He and several others who'd decided to refuse had their guns taken off them and were put under armed guard.". Servicemen fire a 120mm mortar towards Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine. If we had moved gradually, if we had checked the roads for mines many losses could have been avoided.". Russia has suffered a series of military setbacks in the Ukraine war that triggered criticism of the army's leadership. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Unit commanders then staged an intervention. The Institute for the Study of War said on 14 February that the deployment of conscripted servicemen by Russian troops is unlikely to create sufficient offensive potential for a large-scale and rapid mechanised offensive. "But refusing to fight was a difficult decision for him to take. The arrests of the soldiers, whose . Like us on Facebook to see similar stories . 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.. 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 They were furious. If a soldier acts according to such procedures, then he cannot be criminally prosecuted for this. It wouldn't cost much to equip us. 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. Law enforcement located the man, Marsel Kandarov, in September, the statement added. 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.". Almost all his comrades were under the age of 25. I'm shocked by our army. 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. 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. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Sergei made several trips to the front line to try to secure his son's release. What's he waiting for? Some large government-run companies have received letters urging them to sign up their staff for the army. A similar account to Dmitris was given to the BBCs Russian service by Sergey Bokov, a 23-year-old soldier who at the end of April decided to leave the army after fighting in Ukraine. A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was covered in blood, his father has claimed. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook. Kononov reportedly had taken part in President Vladimir Putin's so-called special military operation in the Eastern European nation but left his military unit without permission for more than 10 days. "You've got relatives there. 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. Feb. 27 2023, Published 8:05 a.m. We've changed them to protect their identities. I thought a long time about it and came to the decision. By Robert Coalson. 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 . Source: cnnespanol All news articles on 2023-02-28 You may like. DeSantis won't say he's running. Moscow's war is unjust, but there's no moral obligation for soldiers to refuse to fight. We didnt have normal munitions, no flak jackets or helmets. But they eventually calmed down because there wasnt much they could do, he said. He told me his face was covered in blood. Soldiers with the 127th Regiment of the 1st Army Corps rioted, according to the operational command. He refused so they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. Some Russian soldiers and even whole units are "refusing to fight" in Ukraine, top UK security officials reported today. About 60 Russian paratroopers mutinied and refused to fight in Ukraine, according to Russian press reports related to Putin's government. 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. It's not a war of liberation'," the man told the BBC. 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. "I can see that the war continues, it is not going away," he told the BBC. Russian state media aired footage of blitzed buildings and abandoned streets in Bakhmut , the eastern city where Ukrainian forces have been . 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. I didn't look back.". I want to return to my family and not in a casket.. Quote from the General Staff: "Troops from the so-called . ", "We do not have any problems with soldiers leaving combat positions," the Kremlin leader continued. According to the head of his military commandant's office, Kononov was found at his place of residence with a friend after a search. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . Initially he "believed it was right" despite his dad trying to convince him not to go to war, the BBC report said. 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. 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. "There are held in pits, tortured and things like that. Born in Russia, he graduated from St. Petersburg State University and also received film and video production training at Bard College in New York. Putin's army continues its full-scale aggression in Ukraine. 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. It is unfair, I am fighting in this war just as the others in Ukraine, risking my life, the soldier said. I have served for five years in the army. Ukrainian . "They are keeping people there because they wanted to leave, refused to fight," the father alleged. In another incident, Sergey says he had to overtake comrades trapped inside a burning vehicle in front of him. He is now home in Russia, having taken legal advice to avoid being sent back to the front line. Read about our approach to external linking. 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". Reinforcements failed to arrive and soldiers were poorly equipped for the task of taking a large city. 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. A Russian soldier's service card was stamped "traitor" for refusing . He was soon transferred to Belgorod, a Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, where he has been stationed since. This is one of many reported incidents where Russian soldiers have been accused of refusing to take up arms in Ukraine. But then someone said they'd take my son to work in the storeroom. Russians across the country rallied against the orderbut police have attempted to disperse anti-war protests as they detained hundreds, including some children. They said no remains had been found. Eventually his efforts paid off. "Pictures of Russian vehicles running out of fuel and casualties being abandoned where they . Hundreds were discharged after refusing to take part in the invasion, the Guardian previously reported. 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. 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. In particular, conscripts are starting to cancel their contracts. Homesick. Sergei has invited us to his home to tell us their story. Stas was sent back to Russia. "In a situation when there is shelling or bombs falling, all normal people cannot help but react to it, even on the physiological level. Albert Sakhibgareev was sent near the Ukrainian border in early February for "training exercises," the . A month later - 24 February, the day Russia launched its invasion - he was told to cross the border. VLADIMIR Putin's demoralised and disillusioned troops are fleeing the war in Ukraine and surrendering without a fight, reports claim. UK intelligence estimates Russian losses near Vuhledar, Russians pushing for breakthrough near Vuhledar, but unlikely to succeed, says UK intelligence, Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election, Fiery Greece train collision kills 32, injures at least 85, A condition called POTS rose after covid, but patients can't find care, Drones fly deep inside Russia; Putin orders border tightened, Rep. Lauren Boebert Gets Absolutely Schooled By Jamie Raskin Using Trump's Own Words, Russia redeploys unit of brigade created for war against Chechen Republic of Ichkeria near Vuhledar, Ukrainian Forces Demobilize Russian Tanks Near Frontline Town, Irkutsk conscripts appeal to Putin for third time for being sent to war without training, Multiple Russian Armored Vehicles Destroyed in Single Battle, Ukrainian Brigade Says, The mysterious death of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrovs favorite fighter. Ufa has sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in the war continues it! Liberation ', '' the father alleged, with many fleeing to neighbouring countries including,. War by Russian Forces violates the most others who 'd decided to had... Ukrainian Armed Forces of Ukraine sharing advice with their units, according to human... Human rights lawyer Alexei Tabalov advice to avoid being sent back to the line... 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