The war in Ukraine has been going on for almost five months. Russian President Vladimir Putin (69) sent thousands of soldiers into battle. But now the motivation and combat morale of the Russian soldiers is falling more and more. Many of them are terminating their contracts and want to go home as soon as possible. But it doesn’t work that easily.
17 Russian soldiers who refuse to continue taking part in the war in Ukraine and who submitted their resignation three weeks ago are still being held in the Luhansk region. That says lawyer Andrei Rinchino, head of the legal department of the “Free Buryatia” foundation, in an interview with the portal «Mediazona».
According to him, these are soldiers who have signed short-term contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Back to the front despite dismissal
Referring to one of the soldiers, the lawyer says that the men were sent back to the Luhansk front a week following they were fired. “We went even though we had no equipment,” the lawyer quoted a soldier as saying. On the way there, the car with the soldiers broke down and the men were left on the side of the road.
They finally decided to travel home on their own, but were arrested by Russian Army military police in the Ukrainian city of Pervomaysk. The soldiers’ passports and military identification cards were taken away and they themselves were taken to a headquarters in Alchevsk, 40 kilometers from Luhansk. There they were given mattresses and locked in a room. No one explained to them why they were being held.
As Rinchino notes, among those imprisoned in Alchevsk were people whose contracts had already expired. At least two of them are from the Siberian Republic of Tuva, others are from Rostov or Buryatia.
“You have absolutely no motivation”
Other soldiers from Buryatia, meanwhile, were luckier. Russian journalist Alexandra Garmashapova said in an interview with Freedom UA-TV, a project of several Ukrainian TV channels that broadcast 24/7 news, that 150 Buryats were able to return home over the weekend. These are soldiers who have terminated their contracts. However, the road to get there was rocky. At the end of June, the wives of these men attracted public attention. They demanded that their husbands – who were not allowed to leave Ukraine immediately following the termination of their contract – finally be allowed to go home.
Garmashapova points out that although terminating a contract is legal, in reality it is far from easy for the men to leave the war. The dismissals would be ignored or the men would be threatened with suing them for desertion. “The superiors take advantage of the fact that the men – mostly very young soldiers – have absolutely no idea regarding the law and their rights.”
Altogether, Garmashapova speaks of around 500 soldiers from the region who are known to have lost interest in the war. “They have absolutely no motivation.”
According to the journalist, small resistance movements are currently forming, particularly in regions with ethnic minorities such as Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia.
Relatives motivate soldiers to terminate their contracts
Audio recordings released by the Ukrainian secret service are also said to show what the situation at the front looks like from the Russian soldiers’ point of view. Recently, a conversation was published that is said to have taken place between an unknown soldier in the Russian army and his wife. If he makes it from the front to the rear, he’ll make sure he doesn’t have to go back, says the man. The woman supports him in his decision and talks regarding other soldiers who also submitted their reports and in the end had to desert – unsuccessfully.
“The commanders loaded the soldiers into trucks and told them they were being taken to the airport so they might go home. Instead, they were driven in the direction of Ukraine.” The soldiers noticed that something was wrong and jumped straight out of the vehicles. However, before they were recaptured, they managed to call their families and report what had happened. It is not clear from the conversation whether the families’ subsequent visit to the authorities was able to achieve anything or whether the men are still stuck in Ukraine.
The soldier’s wife promises her husband that she will stir up trouble with other soldiers’ wives if he is not let go. “I don’t know if that will do anything, but at least it’s better than just sitting there and doing nothing.”
Another recording by the secret service, which was uploaded to YouTube almost two weeks ago, is said to be a conversation between a Russian soldier and his mother. Accordingly, the young man reports that he submitted the notice of termination together with other comrades and has been waiting for the decision since then. “The people here refuse to carry out orders,” says the man named Eduard. The mother herself also promises to take action and write letters to the authorities.
Prisoners are recruited
Because of the high losses at the front and the soldiers’ reluctance to continue fighting in the war, the government in the Kremlin has to resort to other means to promote the army. There are now reports that even prisoners are being recruited.
FSB men and those associated with the Wagner militia visit the prisons and offer the men assignments or work to restore the occupied Ukrainian territories, Russian NGO Gulagu.net reported.
The prisoners are to be lured into the war with large sums of money. 200,000 rubles (CHF 3,100) and amnesty beckon for a six-month assignment. In addition, the Wagner men promise compensation for the families of five million rubles (78,350 francs) in the event of a death. Apparently the prisoners think they have nothing to lose anyway. According to “Gulagu.net”, around 300 prisoners in the southern Russian republic of Adygea have agreed to join the armed forces. And in the worst case, dying for promises of money. (man)
