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. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories . Sergei and Stas are not the real names of this father and son. They were continually shelled, he says, both when moving and when parked overnight. For many Russian soldiers, the war in Ukraine is one they don't want to fight. Conscripts could fill some of the gaps, but they will be poorly trained. 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. By The Associated Press August 11, 2022. 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. Reports from Russia said authorities would call up 300,000 people with "relevant" skills or military experience. The man narrated the ordeal his son suffered to the BBC, saying that he had begged his son not to go. Daughter of Putin ally dies when . Unit commanders then staged an intervention. 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. 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. But you have until 6 p.m. today. 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.". 02:32. 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. Independent Russian media have also been reporting hundreds of cases of soldiers refusing repeat deployments to Ukraine since the beginning of April. ", "My first thoughts were 'Is this really happening to me?'". 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. Many of us simply did not want to go back, said Dmitri, a member of the unit who asked not to be identified with his real name. 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. 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. A Russian fleet was said to be preparing to shell port city Odessa and land troops. He's changed completely. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russia's . We had no food, no water, he said. 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. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russias southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine. Many Russian soldiers would rather be dismissed or transferred than fight in Ukraine. He told me his face was covered in blood," the father said while speaking to the outlet. "Later I was told that the building they were in had been shelled and that all five men were missing. 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. Kaminsky said discontent had been building in the unit for weeks, if not months. 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 . But significant damage has been done to that army, which has confronted logistical problems, poor morale and an underestimated Ukrainian resistance. ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 27, 2023 / 13:45 pm (CNA). Ilya Kononov, a contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged with "unauthorized abandonment of the unit" in July, court records show. There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine. "Those refusing to fight are doing so because they've had more than their fair share of front line action," explains Elena Popova. 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 . These people are ready for anything. Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. Argument | Michael Walzer. 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 . 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. R ussian troops have destroyed a concrete dam built in Ukraine's Kherson Region in 2014 to cut off water to Crimea, the RIA news agency quoted the governor of Russian-annexed Crimea Sergei . Its members have been deployed in the Donetsk area and are supposed to take control of the defense line until March 5, he added. The Russian defense ministry didnt respond to the Guardians request for comment. 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. Sergey is just one of hundreds of Russian soldiers understood to have been seeking such advice. 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. 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 . 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. The enemy has somewhat reduced its activity for the fourth day, he said. 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. Russia launched the attack on Ukraine from three sides on February 24. I told him: 'Better to take it. This is one of many reported incidents where Russian soldiers have been accused of refusing to take up arms in Ukraine. 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. 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. A group of Russian soldiers are suing the army after they were fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine. The prisoners at the penal colony in St. Petersburg were expecting a visit by officials, thinking it would be some sort of inspection. Three days of duty? Ilya Kononov, a contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged with "unauthorized . It said that the troops lacked support, while personnel in advanced positions didn't have water. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Just refuse," Sergei recalls telling Stas, who was already an army officer. While speaking, he blew cigarette smoke into an officers face, who responded by pushing him away. The Insider. He said he himself had written some 20 complaints and demands for reassignment, but his superior officers had rejected them -- or even tore the papers up completely. They ignore any requests. "This is all nonsense and fake claims and there is nothing to back them up with. Why Russian Soldiers Are Refusing To Fight In The War On Ukraine. 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. Why Russian Soldiers Are Refusing To Fight In The War On Ukraine. "As an officer he understood that if they went ahead, they wouldn't get out alive. I understand everything, of course. "It was a difficult decision for him to take. But after a certain adaptation period, our men fight brilliantly.". "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . Im tired. Leviev says his team estimates a sizeable minority of the Russian contract soldiers sent to Ukraine to fight in the initial invasion refused to go back again. It's absurd. 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.". 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. Brigade commanders ask who wants to guard the second gunners unit. I told him that he was a zombie. Russians across the country rallied against the orderbut police have attempted to disperse anti-war protests as they detained hundreds, including some children. July 20, 2022 16:08 GMT. Moscow initially put about 80% of its main ground combat forces 150,000 men into the war in February, according to western officials. "Pictures of Russian vehicles running out of fuel and casualties being abandoned where they . 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.. 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 . It caught fire and there were [Russian] soldiers inside. 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 code has been copied to your clipboard. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. 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. In his conversations with Current Time, Kaminsky lamented what he described as commanders callous disregard for the wellbeing of their troops. I will serve my remaining time and then I am out of here, he said. Not from the opposing side. But there's a more common explanation. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. 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. I understood that I had to refuse so I could stay alive, he said. Russian troops release video as they say they will not fight. TASS said the soldier expressed his dissatisfaction with the training of mobilised servicemen outside Moscow. This is not our war. I still havent seen her. At the beginning of April, Sergey was sent back over the border to a camp on the Russian side. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. 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. Deployed to Ukraine in July, Andrei was placed in detention for refusing to carry out orders. As Russia has faced a surprisingly effective resistance from Ukraine, there have been reports of low soldier morale and chaos among the commanding ranks. Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world. Some troops are refusing orders, walking away from military bases or crossing the border into Ukraine and switching sides, media reports show. A group of desperate Russian soldiers have issued an open letter by way of video to despotic President Vladimir Putin. 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. I signed a contract. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . 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 was soon transferred to Belgorod, a Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, where he has been stationed since. Soldiers are refusing to fire artillery on civilians until they clear the area. Instead they were expected to operate without even basic equipment, such as night vision devices, he says. 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. 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 young Russian was among those men who enlisted. The contract soldier was subsequently sentenced on July 21 to restriction in military service for one year, with a 10 percent deduction from his monetary allowance going to the state. Russia announced the mobilisation of 300,000 men in late September after suffering battlefield defeats at the hands of Ukrainian forces. In conversations with Current Time via the Russian social media giant VK, several soldiers from the brigade disputed the circumstances behind their inclusion on the wall of shame. Some Russian soldiers and even whole units are "refusing to fight" in Ukraine, top UK security officials reported today. Heavy street fighting against Russian troops was underway in Kyiv as officials urged locals to take immediate shelter. Journalists fight on their own frontline. They didn't even [try to] dissuade us, because we weren't the first," Sergey told the BBC. And that means he cant be prosecuted for desertion or going AWOL. 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. "I don't want to go [back to Ukraine] to kill and be killed," says Sergey - not his real name - who spent five weeks fighting in Ukraine earlier this year. A Russian court sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials have said. 'I'm Warning You, This Is A Final Offer' 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 . 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. VLADIMIR Putin's demoralised and disillusioned troops are fleeing the war in Ukraine and surrendering without a fight, reports claim. Ukrainian . 03:25. He told me his face was covered in blood. "It's a way of making people go back into that bloodbath," says Elena Popova from Russia's Movement of Conscientious Objectors. 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. 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. A group of Russian soldiers recently sent Vladimir Putin a video complaining about "being sent to the slaughter" and begging for more military support in . In July, the father of a Russian soldier told The Insider that troops were being detained or moved to a detention center in the occupied Luhansk region if they attempted to leave their posts. Troops had been withdrawn from northern Ukraine and appeared to be regrouping for an assault in the east. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) A U.S. Army veteran from Wisconsin died on Feb. 16 while fighting on the . The commanders know only violence and intimidation. 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. "I think that [so many of] our guys died largely because of this. But he stresses that Russian military law does include clauses which allow soldiers to refuse to fight if they don't want to. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflictin Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin touts success, yet some ofhis soldiers refuse to fight. We drove around it and on, firing as we went. 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. 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 . Also, according to Dmytrashkivskyi, the 136th Brigade, which was formed for the war in Chechnya, has arrived in the Vuhledar area. 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. My contract ends in June. "Some soldiers, under the . Each of our interviewees had dealt with dozens of cases and believed those soldiers were also sharing advice with their colleagues. 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 Russian soldier Ilya Kaminsky says rank-and-file troops have "absolutely no trust" in their higher command. Russia struggles to replenish its troops in Ukraine. 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. Servicemen fire a 120mm mortar towards Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine. Source: cnnespanol All news articles on 2023-02-28 You may like. Produced by Will Vernon. 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