In a rare public spat involving the Kremlin, 25 National Guard 'refuseniks' defied their . What's he waiting for? Poland sent the German-made tanks to help Ukraine repel Russian troops and send a "clear and measurable signal of further support", said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who was visiting Kyiv . Instead they were expected to operate without even basic equipment, such as night vision devices, he says. We were illegally jailed.. Stas told his father about one particular battle. . Back in his living room, Sergei tells me that what happened to Stas in Ukraine has brought them closer together. The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting near Ivankiv, about 40 miles north west of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. "He said the [Russian] soldiers had been given no cover; there was no intelligence gathering; no preparation. "We went without helicopters - just in a column, as though we were heading to a parade.". 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 . Approximately 60 paratroopers from Russia's Pskov region have refused to be deployed to Ukraine, newspaper Pskovskaya . It's absurd. 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. 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.. Dmitris refusal to fight highlights some of the military difficulties the Russian army has faced as a result of the Kremlins political decision not to formally declare war on Ukraine preferring instead to describe the invasion, which will soon reach its fourth month, as a special military operation. Heavy street fighting against Russian troops was underway in Kyiv as officials urged locals to take immediate shelter. "So off he went to Ukraine. The soldier, "not wanting to take part in a special . We were fed once a day at lunchtime. Homesick. 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. 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. He said he would put his refusal in writing. Of the 78 soldiers from Kaminskys unit who have disobeyed orders, some have been ordered held in a makeshift brig for days, he said. 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 . 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. 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. They didn't even [try to] dissuade us, because we weren't the first," Sergey told the BBC. All asked that their names be withheld for fear of further punishment or retaliation by commanders. Human rights activist Sergei Krivenko says he is not aware of any prosecutions of those refusing to return to the front. My contract ends in June. I didnt think I would quit, but it happened because of my wifes difficult pregnancy, when I asked for a delay until after she gave birth, a third soldier told Current Time in a VK message. According to the head of his military commandant's office, Kononov was found at his place of residence with a friend after a search. AP. "We rushed forward with short overnight stays, without trenches, without reconnaissance. 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. Boris Johnson's cabinet received an update from a senior national security official on Tuesday morning. 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. "Another reason is the foul way they're being treated. Just refuse," Sergei recalls telling Stas, who was already an army officer. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflictin Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin touts success, yet some ofhis soldiers refuse to fight. Russia launched the attack on Ukraine from three sides on February 24. "In a situation when there is shelling or bombs falling, all normal people cannot help but react to it, even on the physiological level. My daughter was born three months ago. "He said it was my choice. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) A U.S. Army veteran from Wisconsin died on Feb. 16 while fighting on the . Russians might be in favour of the conflict, but they dont actually want to fight, he said, adding that a general mobilisation would entail colossal losses of untrained soldiers. 2. Jan 27, 2023. 'I'm Warning You, This Is A Final Offer' Each of our interviewees had dealt with dozens of cases and believed those soldiers were also sharing advice with their colleagues. Sergei made several trips to the front line to try to secure his son's release. The latest as of 7.15 a.m. 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. The Insider. "You've got relatives there. A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was . All Rights Reserved. Artillery sentry duty? The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 23. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . 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. 2023 Cable News Network. Also, according to Dmytrashkivskyi, the 136th Brigade, which was formed for the war in Chechnya, has arrived in the Vuhledar area. 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. He told me his face was covered in blood," the father said while speaking to the outlet. We had no food, no water, he said. Why Russian Soldiers Are Refusing To Fight In The War On Ukraine. We drove around it and on, firing as we went. The official warned that the next phase of the war was likely to be an "attritional conflict" which could last . He shares that soldiers in Crimea refused to be . Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook. A stamp that was purportedly placed in the military-service booklet of one soldier who refused to serve 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. They were continually shelled, he says, both when moving and when parked overnight. 1 min read. Russian soldier Ilya Kaminsky says rank-and-file troops have "absolutely no trust . 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. A video of the incident that circulated online showed the soldier complaining of poor training, using obscenities, and calling the drills an imitation. Refusal then would mean much harsher penalties. By Robert Coalson. Sergey says he is traumatised by his experience in Ukraine. This is not our war. It caught fire and there were [Russian] soldiers inside. He had helped oversee fighting in eastern Ukraine. Some large government-run companies have received letters urging them to sign up their staff for the army. 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. 2d ago. In October, a new general was appointed to lead Russia's offensive. 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. 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, Russian invaders refusing to go on offensive in Vuhledar area en masse, Life Cover+ Multiple Benefits in one plan, Russia redeploys unit of brigade created for war against Chechen Republic of Ichkeria near Vuhledar, Bedraggled Troops Declare Glory to Russia in Saddest Video Ever, Ukrainian Forces Demobilize Russian Tanks Near Frontline Town. They forgot their military oaths, the ceremonial promise, their vows of duty to their Fatherland, the board reads. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russia's . 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. 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. 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". "Inclined toward treason, lies . According to an audio recording shared with Current Time, commanders met with the insubordinate soldiers on July 17, alternately threatening, begging, and trying to coerce them to remain in service or rescind their resignation requests. And that means he cant be prosecuted for desertion or going AWOL. Troops had been withdrawn from northern Ukraine and appeared to be regrouping for an assault in the east. But he stresses that Russian military law does include clauses which allow soldiers to refuse to fight if they don't want to. 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 . 'You're Nobody' "But he said he was going. They were furious. Andrei, a Russian lieutenant, stopped fighting. Russian soldiers are increasingly dying from accidental friendly fire . As Russia has faced a surprisingly effective resistance from Ukraine, there have been reports of low soldier morale and chaos among the commanding ranks. Youre just a soldier for them; youre nobody.. April 16, 2022 17:49 GMT. Ilya Kononov, a contract soldier from the city of Pskov in western Russia, was charged with "unauthorized . "He told me he had refused to lead his men to a certain death," Oxana tells me. 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. 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He gets it now. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. 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. My son told me, 'I never thought my own country would treat me this way.' The Russian defense ministry didnt respond to the Guardians request for comment. ", 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. ", "My first thoughts were 'Is this really happening to me?'". "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. Id rather bury you on the front line, on the line of defense, than give up my position, he said, describing the sentiments of his commanders. They'd been ordered to advance, but no one knew what lay ahead. 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. Their identities have been protected by the BBC. 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. Brigade has suffered "extremely high casualties" while fighting in Ukraine. 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. Im supposed to be ready for any situation; this war, this special operation, one soldier wrote. 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. 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. Ukraine's Operational Command South reported in a . The commanders know only violence and intimidation. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him. A month later - 24 February, the day Russia launched its invasion - he was told to cross the border. The servicemen were reportedly removed from their unit as punishment. Russians across the country rallied against the orderbut police have attempted to disperse anti-war protests as they detained hundreds, including some children. Anybody want it? the commander, a lieutenant colonel identified only by his surname Agafonov, can be heard telling the soldiers. And there is no guarantee that more prosecutions might not emerge in the future. Along with eight others, Dmitri told his commanders that he refused to rejoin the invasion. The soldier, along with several others who decided not to take part in the fight anymore, put his refusal in writing. "They are keeping people there because they wanted to leave, refused to fight," the father alleged. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Ukrainian soldiers move on the road in the freed territory in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. While the exact number of soldiers refusing to fight remains unclear, such stories illustrate what military experts and western governments say is one of Russias biggest obstacles in Ukraine: a severe shortage of infantry soldiers. The airline carrier Wizz Air has announced it will . It's not a war of liberation.' "We were like blind kittens. Our commanders didnt even argue with us because we were not the first ones to leave, Bokov said. 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. 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. This story has been shared 102,045 times. He managed to contact his mother, Oxana, back in Russia to tell her what was going on. But by September that had all changed. 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 group of Russian soldiers recently sent Vladimir Putin a video complaining about "being sent to the slaughter" and begging for more military support in . 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. 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. 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