It’s British The Guardian who read the documents from a court in Nalchik in southern Russia. The case became known after the court on Wednesday rejected the soldiers’ appeal of the dismissal. The court justifies the decision by saying that the dismissal was justified when they “refused to exercise authority” in Ukraine and returned to their places of employment.
The 115 soldiers comes from Rosgvardia, the Russian National Guard, which had several tasks during the war in Ukraine.
– On the one hand, they have special units that are deployed, and on the other hand, it has had the task of keeping order in the occupied parts. Initially, they also suffered heavy losses when shelled on the roads, says Joakim Paasikivi.
Since the outbreak of war, poor fighting morale among Russians has been reported on several occasions. The soldiers’ refusal is therefore not unexpected, according to the lieutenant colonel.
– We have seen this kind of information during almost the entire war. There seem to have been many who enlisted because it was a good job, not because they wanted to fight in a war of aggression abroad, he says.
The verdict also shows that it is actually possible to refuse to fight, says Paasikivi. If the information is disseminated, it could pose new problems for Russia.
– This week, the upper recruitment age was removed due to the lack of staff. If this spreads among the recruitment layers, it can be even more difficult. It is too early to draw any conclusions about how it will affect the war, but it will be interesting to follow.