Russian military justice indicated that members of the National Guard “arbitrarily refused to carry out an official mission”
The Putin regime began the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS)
A Russian military court in the Kabardia-Balkaria region (south) confirmed the dismissal of 115 soldiers who refused to participate in the brutal offensive launched by Vladimir Putin’s regime in Ukraine.
This appears to be the first officially confirmed case of Russian soldiers refusing to participate in the invasion that began on February 24.
The court concluded, according to a statement released on Wednesday, thatthe military “arbitrarily refused to carry out an official mission.”
The court said it examined the “necessary documents” and questioned officials from the National Guard, a security force which is also involved in operations in Ukraine, but is distinct from the Russian army.
The hearing was held behind closed doors so as not to reveal “military secrets”, added the court, which does not specify where the soldiers were punished in Russia.
The court’s press service, quoted by the Interfax news agency, indicated this Thursday that the soldiers were members of the National Guard who refused to carry out a mission related to Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine.
Russian troops intensify attacks in eastern Ukraine (REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
Meanwhile, the Russian Army maintains hostilities on Ukrainian soil. In the last few hours, Putin’s troops bombed a total of 41 towns in Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, where the pro-Russian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk are located, Ukrainian army sources reported Thursday.
As a result of these bombings, at least six people have died and another 12 have been injured, according to data published by the Ukrainian Army on its Facebook page.
“The enemy destroyed and damaged 52 multi-storey residential buildings and other civilian targets” that include a high school, a culture house, a health facility, among others, the source said.
The attacks have also damaged railway infrastructure and facilities such as garages or civilian evacuation platforms.
At least 760 people were rescued in the last few hours from these combat zones by the Ukrainian evacuation services, the source said.
The Russian army has focused its attacks these days on the Donbas area, whose control would allow it to dominate a strip of land that runs through the east and south of Ukraine to the Crimean peninsula, which it has already occupied since 2014.< /p>
On the other hand, the Ukrainian intelligence services believe that, while attacking Donbas, the Russians are trying to regroup their troops in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, in the south of the country and close to the Crimean peninsula.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense published today by local agencies, this regrouping of troops in already occupied areas “indicates Russia’s intention to gain a foothold in these territories.”
A Russian soldier stands guard in front of the civil-military administration building in the city of Svitlodarsk, in the Donetsk region (REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
“In the Kherson region and in the occupied territory of the Zaporizhia region we see a reinforcement that occurs as a result of the movement of troops from the Crimean peninsula. And all this comes in transit from the Russian Federation”, the note underlined.
He added that, in addition to the ground forces, this group includes air and maritime components.< /p>
“We see that since the beginning of May the occupation troops began to reinforce their defenses. Appropriate engineering structures are being prepared, (…) a third line of defense is being built,” the Defense Ministry said.
“And this suggests that the occupation of these territories (means) that the Russian Federation wants to stay (in them) for a long time. They are military aspects, military indicators that indicate Russia’s intentions to seize and maintain these territories,” the ministry reiterated.
With information from AFP and EFE< /p>