Ukraine war: – Russian forces: – Thousands refuse to go to war

After more than a month of war against neighboring Ukraine, there are now more and more reports that Russian soldiers are refusing to fight.

“Unfortunately, I have information that several of the soldiers in the Russian army, after being told that they are being sent to fight in Ukraine, say:” no, I’m breaking the contract “, says Igor Girkin Thursday morning.

Girkin is better known as Strelkov, which in Norwegian is translated as “The Shooter”. He is a Russian field artillery veteran, who played a key role in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, and later the war in the Donbas.

– If they are many enough, it can limit the operation, says Lieutenant General Arne Bård Dalhaug to Dagbladet.

– Many reports

Dalhaug believes this may be part of the reason why more Russian forces have stopped.

– The weak effort against Kyiv and the northeastern parts, is an indication that the fighting morale has not been good, says Dalhaug.

It may seem as if reports of war denials have caused a snowball to roll, with several Russian soldiers now seeking help to escape and wars. Which in turn can change the outcome of the war.

– There have been many reports about this and it indicates clear disciplinary problems, but we do not know how widespread it is, and whether it is handled, says the lieutenant general.

One who is sitting on more information is the lawyer Pavel Chikov.

Contacted by thousands

Chikov works for the Russian human rights organization Agora, which became closed in Russia February 2016. Since then, they have operated from other countries.

In a posts on Telegram Chikov comes with reports in which he writes that over 3700 have contacted a help channel on the messaging service associated with anti-war protests. 721 people, who have recently been mobilized for military service and other military personnel, are said to have applied for help from the organization’s consulting center.

– Two things can motivate them

– There is information about thousands of officials and soldiers from Rosgardia and seven cities in the Russian Federation, which refuse to go to war, the so-called “deniers”, writes Chikov.

The consulting center is said to have opened less than two weeks ago.

Dagbladet has been in contact with Chikov, who does not want to elaborate on the situation further, but he will provide more information as soon as he has it available.

– Young people have control

– From April 1, conscripts are called up in Russia and I think the fear of being sent to Ukraine, is a basis for more people to refuse for this, says Dalhaug.

Although access to information in Russia is very limited, the lieutenant general says that it is an age-divided society.

– The young people and computer scientists have good control, because it is not possible to stop all information channels on the internet, says Dalhaug, and adds:

– And it is the young people who are to be called up for military service, and they probably have a much greater understanding of what awaits them.

–

Long sentence

– Can a conscript refuse to participate in the war?

– As a soldier in the Armed Forces, you must basically follow orders, says Una Hakvåg, senior researcher at the Armed Forces Research Institute (FFI).

If you break a contract as a conscript, Hakvåg believes that a kind of criminal case can be created.

– Russian soldiers who take perm without permission or desert can be punished with 5 and 10 years in prison respectively according to Russian criminal law. says the senior researcher.

Soldier mothers respond

Both Dalhaug and Hakvåg say there is still every reason to believe Chikov’s statements. In addition, Russian mothers have expressed concern that conscript sons will be sent to the war, which they believe is illegal.

– The laws of our state stipulate that only contract officials can participate in such operations, writes The Soldier Mothers on their websites.

The organization is highly respected both in Russia and internationally. Among other things, they have received The Rafto Prize for his work.

– However, there are also officers who try to send conscripts to the site to carry out a special military operation, it continues.

A desperate situation

Being lured into war

Hakvåg is aware that Russian soldiers have been lured over to other countries without documents, where they are then suddenly in the country illegally, and thus have to choose between being in prison or fighting.

– There are reports about this in Russian independent media, but how extensive it is, we do not know, says the senior researcher.

– That is one of the big questions here. I think it is quite probable that some of the soldiers did not know what they were going for and that they did not have a desire to enter this war.

–

– Disciplinary issues

According to Reuters, spokespersons from Ukraine and the West have said that Russian forces suffer from severely low morale in the “special operation” against Ukraine.

The messages have been confirmed by the head of the British Government’s Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) Jeremy Fleming.

– Do the dirty work

“We have seen Russian soldiers – who lack weapons and morals – who refuse to carry out orders, sabotage their own equipment and even accidentally shoot down their own planes,” said Fleming.

Something Lieutenant General Dalhaug has knowledge of.

– It is not unexpected either. They have suffered heavy losses and it has been chaotic. There have been reports that the Russian soldiers do not have food and that the vehicles do not have fuel. All this helps to lower morale and leads to disciplinary problems.

–

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