Are the Russians willing to refuse to go to war once at the front? Apparently not. At least, that’s what Sergei (not his real name) explained when discussing the situation with his son Stas (not his real name) on the BBC.
“No information was given about the war. They must move forward, but no one knows what awaits them. Father begins with our partners. If he was at the front, it was a choice of Stas. He felt it was his duty to “do the right thing.””.
Sergei believes that his son is not ready for such a war. According to him, this conflict does not really affect Stas. “This is not our war. And this is not a war of liberation”. He continued. After some time, Stas understands that there is no place in front of him. “He refused to fight, it was not easy there. He gave his refusal in writing along with several others. The weapons of these soldiers were confiscated and kept under surveillance.
Several times the father tried to go to the front line for his son’s release. To achieve his objectives, he moved heaven and earth with military and political leaders. A few months later, his son returned to Russia.
His story is inspiring. “First they beat him. Then they took him out as if they were going to kill him. He was lying on the floor and he had to count to 10. He refused. So they hit him on the head with a pistol. His face was covered in blood.
Fortunately, a man finally frees Stas from his ordeal. “They took him to a room and told him: You follow us or we kill you. At last one came to say that he was going to reserve duty.
With his family, Sergey assures us that this episode brought him closer to his son. “Today we are on the same wavelength. He admitted to me that he would never have believed that his own country would treat him like this. People here don’t understand how much danger we are in. Not from the opposite camp. But from our side”He finished.
The BBC also collected testimony from the mother of a lieutenant who refused to fight. “He told me he refused to lead his men to certain death., explained Oksana. “Given his stance, he understood that his team would not make it out alive. They sent my son to the detention center. Then I got a message that he was missing like four other officers. We haven’t heard from him in five months. They explained that a bomb was thrown in the building where he was then. Today, his official status is “missing in action”. It doesn’t make sense. The way my son was treated was not only illegal but inhumane.
Putin refuses and insists it is “fake news”.
The Kremlin has already responded to these various testimonies. For Vladimir Putin, everything is completely wrong. “We have no camps or prisons for Russian soldiers”, the president explained in December. “We have no problem with players leaving battle positions. If you get bombarded, so will anyone. But after a certain period, our men fight brilliantly.
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