The beach, just north of Odessa in southern Ukraine, was defended with mines and anti-tank hedgehogs. The young Russian was among those men who enlisted. 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 . Almost immediately his unit found itself under attack. 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. What's he waiting for? Many soldiers, therefore, have chosen to be fired or transferred rather than going into the meat grinder, he said. Sergey says he is traumatised by his experience in Ukraine. He believes his commanders had planned to capture strongholds and key cities very quickly - and had calculated that the Ukrainians would simply surrender. 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. Their identities have been protected by the BBC. 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. Paratroopers from the 11th Separate Air Assault Brigade, based outside Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Buryatia region in eastern Siberia, arrived in Ukraines Kherson region on February 24, shortly after Russias invasion began. 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. Timofei Rozhanskiy is a correspondent in Kyiv for Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. Although Sergey does not want to return to the front line, he does want to complete his outstanding military service in Russia to avoid any unforeseen consequences. 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. "In a situation when there is shelling or bombs falling, all normal people cannot help but react to it, even on the physiological level. 2023 BBC. 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.". Without a formal . We've received your submission. A group of desperate Russian soldiers have issued an open letter by way of video to despotic President Vladimir Putin. 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. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflictin Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin touts success, yet some ofhis soldiers refuse to fight. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. "He told me he had refused to lead his men to a certain death," Oxana tells me. He is now home in Russia, having taken legal advice to avoid being sent back to the front line. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the occupiers are not able to resolve problems with manning their units. 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. But the soldier later discussed with his father what would happen if he refused to fight. appreciated. There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine. Stas was sent back to Russia. 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. He told me his face was covered in blood," the father said while speaking to the outlet. A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was . 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. More than 550,000 soldiers from Putin's failing army have been killed or injured so badly in Ukraine that they are no longer able to fight, according to Minusrus. 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. There are no legal grounds to start a criminal case if a soldier refuses to fight while on Russian territory.. TASS said the soldier expressed his dissatisfaction with the training of mobilised servicemen outside Moscow. ET. Missing In Action: A Russian Soldier's Mother Desperately Seeks Answers, Vox Pop: Muscovites On How Russia's Isolation Affects Daily Life. 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 . It's not a war of liberation'," the man told the BBC. Russian state media aired footage of blitzed buildings and abandoned streets in Bakhmut , the eastern city where Ukrainian forces have been . 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. In October, a new general was appointed to lead Russia's offensive. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russias southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine. Stas, an army officer, had written a letter to the . We were illegally jailed.. Why wasn't it done?". Images by Anton Chicherov. 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". 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. "Pictures of Russian vehicles running out of fuel and casualties being abandoned where they . But, he had been sufficiently worried about his unit's reaction to his refusal that he decided to seek legal advice. A group of Russian soldiers are suing the army after they were fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine. Boris Johnson's cabinet received an update from a senior national security official on Tuesday morning. Kaminsky said discontent had been building in the unit for weeks, if not months. Theyre making everything so easy for you, guys. Heavy street fighting against Russian troops was underway in Kyiv as officials urged locals to take immediate shelter. 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. The official warned that the next phase of the war was likely to be an "attritional conflict" which could last . It's absurd. During wartime, rules are totally different. 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. Command post guard duty? 'I'm Warning You, This Is A Final Offer' "Those refusing to fight are doing so because they've had more than their fair share of front line action," explains Elena Popova. 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 prisoners at the penal colony in St. Petersburg were expecting a visit by officials, thinking it would be some sort of inspection. "Then they took him into a room and told him: 'You're coming with us, otherwise we'll kill you.' A Russian soldier has been sentenced for refusing to fight in the war in Ukraine. "Inclined toward treason, lies . Human rights activist Sergei Krivenko says he is not aware of any prosecutions of those refusing to return to the front. 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. Sergey joined the army as a conscript - most Russian men between the ages of 18-27 must complete one year of compulsory military service. For some Russians, refusing to return to the front line may be a moral stand. He refused so they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. 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. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much On 15 February, Ukraines Defence Intelligence reported that Russias losses were the largest since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. "As an officer he understood that if they went ahead, they wouldn't get out alive. Russian soldiers are increasingly dying from accidental friendly fire . Putin needs to make a decision regarding mobilisation in the coming weeks, said Rob Lee, a military analyst. 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. Discovery Company. 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. In Buryatia, where the 11th Brigade is based, dozens of personnel have sought legal assistance from local activists, seeking to break their contracts and get out of service in Ukraine, for various reasons. "I had thought that we were the Russian army, the most super-duper in the world," says the young man bitterly. 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. My contract ends in June. Honestly, we had to supply ourselves with food. "I'm morally exhausted. They began to stir and offer up some alternatives when people started specifically saying no, he said. He had helped oversee fighting in eastern Ukraine. Stas told his father about one particular battle. "He said the [Russian] soldiers had been given no cover; there was no intelligence gathering; no preparation. Troops had been withdrawn from northern Ukraine and appeared to be regrouping for an assault in the east. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him. 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. Daughter of Putin ally dies when . 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 . Then I got a text message saying he and four other officers had been put in a basement. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. Sergei (not his real name) says his son was beaten with a pistol for refusing to go back to the frontlines, There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Hundreds were discharged after refusing to take part in the invasion, the Guardian previously reported. 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. He bombarded military officials, prosecutors and investigators with appeals for help. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories . Frank Gardner looks at what lies ahead as winter arrives in Ukraine. They'd been ordered to advance, but no one knew what lay ahead. Russian paratroopers. The refusenik troops add to Russian commanders headaches as they struggle to replenish spent and exhausted units across the roughly 480-kilometer (300-mile) front line stretching from east of Kharkiv in the northeast down to Kherson in south-central Ukraine. Anyone? Eventually his efforts paid off. There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine. The bosses response was: We dont care about your problems, go ahead and quit. Newsweek was unable to independently verify those claims but reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment. ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 27, 2023 / 13:45 pm (CNA). Several lawyers and human rights activists the BBC spoke to said they had been regularly offering advice to men trying to avoid returning to Ukraine. 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. Russian soldier Ilya Kaminsky says rank-and-file troops have "absolutely no trust . Western intelligence agencies say Russias losses are substantial; a top British military commander told the BBC this week that up to 50,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the invasion was launched on February 24. 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. 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. He said the "Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most massive violations of human rights" being witnessed in the world today. The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 23. 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 . Andrei, a Russian lieutenant, stopped fighting. "We were like blind kittens. Sergei made several trips to the front line to try to secure his son's release. President Vladimir Putin promised that only professional soldiers would take part in his "special military operation.". As Russia's forces run out of food and fuel, some h But they eventually calmed down because there wasnt much they could do, he said. "We went without helicopters - just in a column, as though we were heading to a parade.". As of July 20, the fate of the detained soldiers was unknown. Russia struggles to replenish its troops in Ukraine. 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. 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. The commanders know only violence and intimidation. Source: cnnespanol All news articles on 2023-02-28 You may like. A stamp that was purportedly placed in the military-service booklet of one soldier who refused to serve in Ukraine. Sergei and Stas are not the real names of this father and son. Our commanders didnt even argue with us because we were not the first ones to leave, Bokov said. Fewer and fewer Russian servicemen want to fight for the Kremlin's invading plans. By The Associated Press August 11, 2022. July 19, 2022. "There are held in pits, tortured and things like that. Im warning you, this is a final offer, he is heard telling the soldiers. Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. 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 URL has been copied to your clipboard. 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. About 140 Russian soldiers have reportedly been jailed so far. It doesn't make sense. 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. Russian . We arent officially in a state of war, so they could not force me to go.. But there's a more common explanation. A Russian soldier has been sentenced for refusing to fight in the war in Ukraine. Back in his living room, Sergei tells me that what happened to Stas in Ukraine has brought them closer together. The soldier's testimony said war-weary soldiers were urged by superiors to return to the fight. 'You're Nobody' (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) A U.S. Army veteran from Wisconsin died on Feb. 16 while fighting on the . At some point, Kaminsky's unit was then transferred to Luhansk, in Ukraines Donbas region. Within the dense smoke caused by the propaganda of one side or the other, the truth is that there does seem to be a good number of Russian soldiers who have refused to fight in Ukraine. Outside as if they were going to shoot him friendly fire him to count ten. February 23 letter to the front line to seek legal advice footage of blitzed buildings and abandoned streets in,! 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