His unit moved on through the Ukrainian countryside, but there was a clear lack of strategy, he says. By early July, Kaminsky said, he'd had enough: He refused to fight, one of 78 soldiers from his brigade who have refused orders. Sergey joined the army as a conscript - most Russian men between the ages of 18-27 must complete one year of compulsory military service. I didn't look back.". 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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. "The wall of misunderstanding between us has gone. Along with eight others, Dmitri told his commanders that he refused to rejoin the invasion. 02:32. In his unit of 50 people, 10 were killed and 10 others wounded. 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. 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. 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 touts success, yet some of his soldiers refuse to fight. But he stresses that Russian military law does include clauses which allow soldiers to refuse to fight if they don't want to. A Russian soldier who refused to continue fighting in Ukraine, he was beaten until his face was . It's not just Ukrainians resisting Vladimir . But they eventually calmed down because there wasnt much they could do, he said. 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. "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. Despite speculation beforehand, Putin did not formally declare war on Ukraine during his Victory Day speech on 9 May. 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Later that month he received an order to return to Ukraine - but told his commander that he was not prepared to go. 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. 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. He believes his commanders had planned to capture strongholds and key cities very quickly - and had calculated that the Ukrainians would simply surrender. He told me his face was covered in blood. 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. I told him that he was a zombie. 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. Belarus allowed Russia to stage part of the invasion from its . By Robert Coalson. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Newsweek was unable to independently verify those claims but reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment. All his bravado has gone. Conscripts could fill some of the gaps, but they will be poorly trained. Ukrainian soldiers move on the road in the freed territory in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. He refused. Separately, a military tribunal said it sentenced Kandarov to five years behind bars for evading military service during mobilisation for more than a month. 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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. "But refusing to fight was a difficult decision for him to take. But, after a few months, he made the decision to sign a two-year professional contract which would also give him a salary. He's changed completely. Source: cnnespanol All news articles on 2023-02-28 You may like. Russian soldier Ilya Kaminsky says rank-and-file troops have "absolutely no trust . 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. Russian paratroopers. Some Russian soldiers and even whole units are "refusing to fight" in Ukraine, top UK security officials reported today. 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. A video of the incident that circulated online showed the soldier complaining of poor training, using obscenities, and calling the drills an imitation. 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. We've changed them to protect their identities. 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. We had no food, no water, he said. The soldier's testimony said war-weary soldiers were urged by superiors to return to the fight. "He said it was my choice. Putin needs to make a decision regarding mobilisation in the coming weeks, said Rob Lee, a military analyst. Critics have said many mobilised men hardly had any battlefield experience and have received little training before being sent to the front. More than 26,000 Russian military personnel have been killed in . A Russian military unit deployed in Ukraine's south has refused to fight over a lack of vital supplies such as water, Ukraine said Sunday. (Reuters Photo) Russian soldiers fighting the war in Ukraine are in disarray and crying as they are asked to "fire at . While speaking, he blew cigarette smoke into an officers face, who responded by pushing him away. Then I got a text message saying he and four other officers had been put in a basement. 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. 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. Sergei and Stas are not the real names of this father and son. 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. For that they sent my son to a detention centre. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . A Warner Bros. 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. Then I started getting messages from him asking what would happen if he refused to fight.". Russias troops in Ukraine are largely made up of contract soldiers: volunteer personnel who sign fixed-term contracts for service. There are reports of mobilised Russian troops locked in cellars and basements for refusing to fight in Ukraine. 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. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him. ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 27, 2023 / 13:45 pm (CNA). CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports on the conflictin Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin touts success, yet some ofhis soldiers refuse to fight. Russia struggles to replenish its troops in Ukraine. Some troops are refusing orders, walking away from military bases or crossing the border into Ukraine and switching sides, media reports show. Russian resistance is growing against Putin's war. 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. There are no legal grounds to start a criminal case if a soldier refuses to fight while on Russian territory.. But by September that had all changed. They haven't been seen for five months. 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.. 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. 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. 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 . It doesn't make sense. I'm shocked by our army. "We rushed forward with short overnight stays, without trenches, without reconnaissance. 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 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. "Then they took him into a room and told him: 'You're coming with us, otherwise we'll kill you.' They didn't even [try to] dissuade us, because we weren't the first," Sergey told the BBC. Second, the conduct of the war by Russian forces violates the most . What is being given to Ukraine by the UK? I will serve my remaining time and then I am out of here, he said. Missing In Action: A Russian Soldier's Mother Desperately Seeks Answers, Vox Pop: Muscovites On How Russia's Isolation Affects Daily Life. I understood that I had to refuse so I could stay alive, he said. "They are keeping people there because they wanted to leave, refused to fight," the father alleged. ", "My first thoughts were 'Is this really happening to me?'". In all, 78 soldiers including Kaminsky openly challenged his orders, and demanded to be either sent home or reassigned, he said. Once again, we have changed their names. "Later I was told that the building they were in had been shelled and that all five men were missing. The soldier is in the unit, hes not running away anywhere. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Ukrainians have been asked to avoid going near windows or on balconies and be . 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. One commander in northern Russia requested a criminal case be brought against his subordinate who would not return to Ukraine, but a military prosecutor refused to proceed, according to documents seen by the BBC. Sergey is just one of hundreds of Russian soldiers understood to have been seeking such advice. About 140 Russian soldiers have reportedly been jailed so far. Why wasn't it done?". Jan 27, 2023. 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. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him. He is now home in Russia, having taken legal advice to avoid being sent back to the front line. As Russia has faced a surprisingly effective resistance from Ukraine, there have been reports of low soldier morale and chaos among the commanding ranks. "In a situation when there is shelling or bombs falling, all normal people cannot help but react to it, even on the physiological level. Images by Anton Chicherov. DeSantis won't say he's running. As of July 20, the fate of the detained soldiers was unknown. In . 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". Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook. But significant damage has been done to that army, which has confronted logistical problems, poor morale and an underestimated Ukrainian resistance. Instead they were expected to operate without even basic equipment, such as night vision devices, he says. "They beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to . 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. They began to stir and offer up some alternatives when people started specifically saying no, he said. Ukrainian . 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. Human rights activist Sergei Krivenko says he is not aware of any prosecutions of those refusing to return to the front. The soldier was a serving officer in the Russian army when Mr Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 23. Many Russian soldiers would rather be dismissed or transferred than fight in Ukraine. "It was blown up from a grenade launcher or something else. Earlier Ukraines General Staff reported that invading Russian forces were seeing mass desertion among its troops amid Ukrainian military successes. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. 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. Russia launched the attack on Ukraine from three sides on February 24. Reports of Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine are also mounting. 2023 Cable News Network. Argument | Michael Walzer. 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. A Russian court has sentenced a 24-year-old professional soldier to five years in prison for refusing to fight in Ukraine, officials said Thursday. 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