![]() ![]() Russian authorities quietly stepped up their efforts to recruit new soldiers as it became clear that a quick victory in Ukraine was unattainable.Īn investigation by the BBC’s Russian service showed that Russia’s defence ministry filled employment websites with vacancies, offering people with no combat experience opportunities to join the army on lucrative short-term contracts. Many of the units that are supposed to train conscripts are fighting themselves,” Lee said.īut 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. “Conscripts could fill some of the gaps, but they will be poorly trained. Lee said one option for the Kremlin would be to authorise the deployment of conscript units to Ukraine, despite Putin’s earlier pledges that Russia would not use any conscripts in the war. The troops are getting exhausted – they won’t be able to keep this up for a long period.” “Russia lacks sufficient ground units with contract soldiers for a sustainable rotation. “Putin needs to make a decision regarding mobilisation in the coming weeks,” said Rob Lee, a military analyst. But significant damage has been done to that army, which has confronted logistical problems, poor morale and an underestimated Ukrainian resistance. Moscow initially put about 80% of its main ground combat forces – 150,000 men – into the war in February, according to western officials. While the exact number of soldiers refusing to fight remains unclear, such stories illustrate what military experts and western governments say is one of Russia’s biggest obstacles in Ukraine: a severe shortage of infantry soldiers. They would be looking at time in prison.” Refusal then would mean much harsher penalties. “During wartime, rules are totally different. Pointing to Russia’s military laws, Benyash said it would be more difficult for soldiers to refuse to fight if Russia were to declare a full-scale war. ![]() ![]() “Our commanders didn’t even argue with us because we were not the first ones to leave,” Bokov said. Many soldiers, therefore, have chosen to be fired or transferred rather than going into “the meat grinder”, he said.Ī similar account to Dmitri’s was given to the BBC’s Russian service by Sergey Bokov, a 23-year-old soldier who at the end of April decided to leave the army after fighting in Ukraine. “There are no legal grounds to start a criminal case if a soldier refuses to fight while on Russian territory.” “Commanders try to threaten their soldiers with prison time if they dissent, but we tell the soldiers that they can simply say no,” Benyash said, adding that he was not aware of any criminal cases against soldiers who refused to fight. Among them were 12 national guardsmen from Russia’s southern city of Krasnodar who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine. 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.īenyash said “hundreds and hundreds” of soldiers had been in touch with his team for advice on how they could avoid being sent to fight. We aren’t officially in a state of war, so they could not force me to go.”ĭmitri’s refusal to fight highlights some of the military difficulties the Russian army has faced as a result of the Kremlin’s 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”. I will serve my remaining time and then I am out of here,” he said. “I have served for five years in the army. He was soon transferred to Belgorod, a Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, where he has been stationed since. But they eventually calmed down because there wasn’t much they could do,” he said. “I want to return to my family – and not in a casket.”Īlong with eight others, Dmitri told his commanders that he refused to rejoin the invasion. 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. “It soon became clear that not everyone was onboard with it. ![]()
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