Russian military justice has opened the first criminal case against a reservist who refused to fight in Ukraine, human rights lawyer Pavel Shikov said on Wednesday.
“I am not going to Ukraine and I do not intend to shoot Ukrainians”the defendant replied to the commander who questioned him, as the activist explained on the social network Telegram.
He is a citizen of the Siberian region of Yakutia, and the events took place in a barracks in Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Buryatia region, in Russia.
Subsequently, and according to his testimony quoted by the Efe agency, the military unit officers threatened him with reprisals and the opening of a trial, causing him to flee.
The fugitive, a sergeant, was mobilized on September 23 and removed from his military unit five days later.
The reservist, who was called up as part of the partial mobilization announced by President Vladimir Putin, could be sentenced to several years in prison.
Hundreds of thousands of military-age Russians have left Russia in recent weeks for fear of being sent to the front in Ukraine.
In addition, many of the mobilized and volunteers denounced the lack of equipment, poor repair and lack of military training.
Source: DN
