When the soldiers of an elite Russian army brigade were told in early April to prepare for a second deployment to Ukraine, fear broke out among the ranks. But significant damage has been done to that army, which has confronted logistical problems, poor morale and an underestimated Ukrainian resistance. 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. The Russian defense ministry didnt respond to the Guardians request for comment. Newsweek was unable to independently verify those claims but reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment. In October, a new general was appointed to lead Russia's offensive. About 60 Russian paratroopers mutinied and refused to fight in Ukraine, according to Russian press reports related to Putin's government. Anyone? ET Saturday: A curfew in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, has been extended from 5 pm until 8 am every day At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been . The soldier is in the unit, hes not running away anywhere. Russian state media aired footage of blitzed buildings and abandoned streets in Bakhmut , the eastern city where Ukrainian forces have been . It doesn't make sense. And this, according to a video on social media app Telegram, has . But, he had been sufficiently worried about his unit's reaction to his refusal that he decided to seek legal advice. 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 . Ukrainian soldiers move on the road in the freed territory in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. 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. They haven't been seen for five months. 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 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 . 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Russia has also turned to mercenaries to bolster its war efforts, deploying fighters from the shadowy Kremlin-linked Wagner group. Putin needs to make a decision regarding mobilisation in the coming weeks, said Rob Lee, a military analyst. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! But then someone said they'd take my son to work in the storeroom. This is one of many reported incidents where Russian soldiers have been accused of refusing to take up arms in Ukraine. "It was a difficult decision for him to take. It is unfair, I am fighting in this war just as the others in Ukraine, risking my life, the soldier said. 2023 Cable News Network. It said that the troops lacked support, while personnel in advanced positions didn't have water. That's what people who have come from there say.". 2. 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 BBC has been speaking to one such soldier. That is not to say that prosecutions are not being attempted. 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. 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. They forgot their military oaths, the ceremonial promise, their vows of duty to their Fatherland, the board reads. A Warner Bros. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine. 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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. There are no legal grounds to start a criminal case if a soldier refuses to fight while on Russian territory.. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric', The people who want you to believe the Ukraine war is fake. Honestly, we had to supply ourselves with food. He was soon transferred to Belgorod, a Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, where he has been stationed since. 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. Daughter of Putin ally dies when . "Later I was told that the building they were in had been shelled and that all five men were missing. 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. Law enforcement located the man, Marsel Kandarov, in September, the statement added. So, they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. 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. Russian resistance is growing against Putin's war. More than 100 Russian national guardsmen have been fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine, court documents show, in what looks to be the clearest indication yet of dissent among some parts of . But his stand changed after the soldier found out he had been sent to fight with "no intelligence gathering, no preparation and no cover". 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. 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.". 'You're Nobody' Why Russian Soldiers Are Refusing To Fight In The War On Ukraine. Boris Johnson's cabinet received an update from a senior national security official on Tuesday morning. July 20, 2022 16:08 GMT. ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 27, 2023 / 13:45 pm (CNA). The private then pushed the officer in the chest. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. 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. All Rights Reserved. Then I got a text message saying he and four other officers had been put in a basement. Unit commanders then staged an intervention. They made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. 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. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russias southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine. As of July 20, the fate of the detained soldiers was unknown. Im supposed to be ready for any situation; this war, this special operation, one soldier wrote. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. 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. AP. 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. He and several others who'd decided to refuse had their guns taken off them and were put under armed guard.". I thought a long time about it and came to the decision. By Robert Coalson. Feb. 27 2023, Published 8:05 a.m. "You've got relatives there. A group of Russian soldiers are suing the army after they were fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine. 03:25. He gets it now. He said he would put his refusal in writing. Russian servicemen near Kherson, Ukraine - 20 May 2022, By Olesya Gerasimenko and Kateryna Khinkulova, A convoy of Russian military vehicles heading towards the Donbas region - 23 February 2022, Local residents by a destroyed Russian tank in Sloboda, Chernihiv, Ukraine - 8 May 2022, Banner with the letters Z and V, in support of the Russian military, on a building in Moscow - 19 May 2022, Russian service personnel rehearse for the Victory Day Parade in Moscow - 7 May 2022, President Vladimir Putin visits soldiers wounded during the conflict in Ukraine - 25 May 2022, Pinned down by Russian fire in key front line village. We've changed them to protect their identities. I still havent seen her. - Ukraine's President . But you have until 6 p.m. today. He told me his face was covered in blood. They began to stir and offer up some alternatives when people started specifically saying no, he said. Missing In Action: A Russian Soldier's Mother Desperately Seeks Answers, Vox Pop: Muscovites On How Russia's Isolation Affects Daily Life. Russias troops in Ukraine are largely made up of contract soldiers: volunteer personnel who sign fixed-term contracts for service. Read about our approach to external linking. As Russia's forces run out of food and fuel, some h Once again, we have changed their names. (Reuters Photo) Russian soldiers fighting the war in Ukraine are in disarray and crying as they are asked to "fire at . In a basement from the shadowy Kremlin-linked Wagner group which has confronted logistical problems, poor and..., one soldier wrote him and then they took him outside as if they were going to 's offensive this... Russias troops in Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022 largely made up of contract soldiers: personnel! Forgot their military oaths, the eastern city where Ukrainian forces have been accused of refusing to.. A Warner Bros. 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