[Report] Russian Soldiers in Ukraine Threatened To Face Criminal Charges To Push Them Not To Quit; Commanders Kill Wounded Troops

A fresh claim reveals that many Russian contractual troops were forced to fight in Ukraine against their will and informed that if they tried to leave, they would face criminal charges.

Contract soldiers' relatives informed Meduza, an independent Russian news organization based in Latvia, that resigning from military duty is practically difficult.

Russia Threatens Soldiers With Criminal Charges

According to the news agency, Russians who have completed higher education or vocational training can enroll as contract soldiers instead of serving in the military. The news comes as Russia enters its 12th week of the war in Ukraine, where 100,000 troops have been dispatched to carry out a "special military operation," according to Moscow. The war has cost the Russian military a lot of lives so far, with Ukrainian officials claiming that over 20,000 men have died. At least a dozen Russian military generals have been killed in the combat.

Several troops, according to the latest revelation, had contacts with the Russian military before the war in Ukraine started. Two moms told Meduza that their kids enlisted in the military in November 2021, months before Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized forces to attack the nation. They were abruptly ordered to battle in Ukraine in late February without being notified what was going on or how long they would be gone.

Several troops sought to file petitions to cancel their contracts and move to conscript duty, as per to Svetlana A. Russian conscripts are now thought to be in a better situation than contractual troops, according to Newsweek via MSN.

Captive Soldiers: Russian Officers "Kill Own Wounded Troops"

Meanwhile, arrested Russian soldiers claim that their superiors killed their injured troops rather than rescuing them and sending them for care. The young intelligence troops detailed how one lieutenant colonel asked a wounded colleague if he could walk in a horrifying testimony to Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Zolkin.

When the seriously injured soldier said he couldn't, the high-ranking commander is said to have shot him and many other soldiers dead. Officers had finished off their wounded, another soldier said Zolkin, who has reported on Russian detainees for Open Media Ukraine, as per Mirror.

A third victim informed Zolkin that their wounded friends could have been rescued, given care, and taken out of there since the lieutenant colonel shot four or five like this. The location of the purported crime, where the troops being interrogated was apprehended, and what unit they belonged to were all unclear from the footage.

According to Ostorozhno Media, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin had no information about the dead and injured servicemen in Ukraine. He was also questioned about allegations on social media from loved ones who are unable to obtain the remains of Ukrainian servicemen who have died.

The charges that Russian leaders are murdering their soldiers come after a revelation that some disheartened troops have committed themselves on the front lines to escape confrontation. Andrey Ushakov, 20, claimed he knew two troops committed suicide because they couldn't cope with Russia's botched invasion, which began on February 24.

On camera, many Russian soldiers sobbed as they expressed regret for murdering Ukrainian citizens, especially children, and confessed that the invasion was a tragic mistake. Footage of captured Russian soldiers has sparked debate about whether Ukraine has broken the Geneva Conventions, which guarantee the safety of POWs.

Prisoners of war must be safeguarded at all times, notably against acts of violence or intimidation, as well as insults and public curiosity, according to Article 13. Retaliatory measures against prisoners of war are forbidden.

Meanwhile, according to an intercepted conversation revealed by Ukrainian officials, Russian forces have allegedly piled thousands of their combat dead in mounds as tall as a man in a desperate attempt to disguise the actual amount of their casualties, New York Post reported.