Mohacsy's Safe Portfolio Member Forum

[Elroy Jetson]

Going absent without leave from the Russian army is a criminal offense punishable by prison sentences.

However, those serving under contract have a legal right to resign within 10 days of leaving service with an explanation for the motive for their departure.

It's estimated more than 1,000 senior officers under contract in Ukraine have resigned their commissions and left the military. - https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/22/europe/ukraine-russian-officer-resigns/index.html
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On February 22 this year this Russian Officer and the rest of his battalion were asked to hand over their mobile phones while stationed in Krasnodar, southern Russia, without any explanation. That night they spent hours painting white stripes on their military vehicles. Then they were told to wash those off, he said. "The order has changed, draw the letter Z, as in Zorro."

Two days later they were ordered into Ukraine, "Some guys refused outright. They wrote a report and left. I don't know what happened to them. I stayed. I do not know why. The next day we went," he said.

The officer said he did not know the goal of the mission; that the bombastic claims from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine was part of Russia and needed to be "de-Nazified" did not make it through to the men asked to fight. Most did not understand what this was all for and what we are doing here," he said.

First drove past boxes of Russian dry rations scattered everywhere and piles of destroyed equipment. "I was sitting in the KAMAZ truck, holding a gun tightly to me. I had a pistol and two grenades with me," he said.

As the force drove northwest, in the direction of Kherson they approached a village, a Ukrainian with a whip jumped out and started whipping the convoy and screaming: "You all are f**ked!" the officer recalled.

"He almost climbed into the cabin where we were. His eyes were teary from crying. It made a strong impression on me," he added. We would hide our faces for shame as well as safety because he felt embarrassed to be seen by Ukrainians there. On their land.

"In general, when we saw the Ukrainian locals, we tensed up. Some of them hid weapons underneath their clothes, and when they got closer, they fired."

And the Russians came under heavier attack too, with mortars aimed at them on the second or third day they were in Ukraine. "For the first week or so, I was in a state of aftershock. The main thing is to live another day.' Several times the shells fell very close. It's a miracle none of us died," he said.

But he also remembers some perking up when they learned that combat bonuses would soon be paid. "Someone had a reaction, 'Oh, another 15 days here and I'll close on my family's loan,'" he said.

After a couple of weeks, this officer was deployed closer to the rear, accompanying equipment that needed repair, he said. There he said he also became more aware of what was going on and had more time and energy to reflect.

"We had a radio receiver and we could listen to the news," he told CNN. "That's how I learned that shops are closing in Russia and the economy is collapsing. I felt guilty about this. But I felt even more guilty because we came to Ukraine."

He said his resolve hardened to the point where there was only one thing he could do. "In the end, I gathered my strength and went to the commander to write a letter of resignation," he told CNN.

At first, the commander rejected the approach and told him it was impossible to refuse to serve. "He told me there could be a criminal case. That rejection is betrayal. But I stood my ground.

He gave me a sheet of paper and a pen," the officer told CNN, adding he wrote his resignation there and then.
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Valentina Melnikova, executive secretary of the Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees of Russia, said all troops had the right to file reports while acknowledging that some of the commanders might refuse them or try to intimidate soldiers.

Her organization often advises soldiers on how to write those reports and provides legal counsel. When filing for resignation, the soldiers cited that they did not agree to participate in a special operation against Ukraine when signing the contract.

The Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate reported that in several Russian units, specifically the 150th Motorized Rifle Division of the 8th Army of the Southern Military District, as many as 60% to 70% of soldiers were refusing to serve. CNN cannot verify this number. - https://gur.gov.ua/content/sered-viiskovykh-rf-zrostaie-kilkist-ofitsiinykh-vidmovnykiv.html

Recruitment is still ongoing in Russia, and new soldiers are often from poorer regions with fewer prospects.