Russia: Deployment of conscripts in the Kursk region
(26.08.2024) Idite Lesom, an organisation that supports deserters from Russia, reports on the situation in the Russian military following the invasion of the Kursk region by Ukrainian troops. The reports are based on a large number of enquiries received by the organisation. On 24 August 2024, Idite Lesom also pointed out that a prisoner exchange of conscripts between Ukraine and Russia had already taken place.1 This confirms the reports on the use of conscripts in Russia.
There are two main points. Firstly, conscripts are forced into signing up as professional soldiers. This would allow the military to send them not only to Kursk, but also directly to Ukraine. On the other hand, conscripts who have not yet received any military training are also being sent to the war region around Kursk. Idite Lesom has provided us with a number of the reports.
How conscripts are forced to sign contracts: tricks and intimidation.
We have been approached by relatives of conscripts serving in different regions of Russia, who have told us how soldiers are forced to sign contracts, threatening to be sent to Kursk.2
1) conscript serving in the Rostov region is given an ultimatum: contract or Kursk region.
“My son’s friend has been in the army since spring, serving in the Rostov region. They persuade him to sign a contract or they say they will send him to Kursk. The young man himself is from Moscow.”
2) The mother of a conscript serving in the Leningrad region reported that her son is frightened that without a contract he will be sent to the very frontline, while with a contract he is promised that he will stay in the rear.
“My son is a conscript, and they are preparing to send them to the border in late September or early October. I am very scared. They also force them to sign a contract, they say: whoever has a contract will be in the rear, without contracts they throw them into the frontline.”
3) A girlfriend of conscript said that her boyfriend, serving in the Pskov region, faced intimidation and threats of being sent to the Kursk.:
“The young man left for the army on July 1. Now he is in a training unit, and then they will send him to the Pskov region. They are constantly told that they will be sent to Kursk. They are intimidated by the fact that they will be sent there “on a business trip” anyway, so it is better to sign a contract so that “at least they get paid”. But in any case, we discuss with him all the time that he will never sign.”
4) Another girlfriend of the conscript, who is already in Kursk, said that her boyfriend is still being pressured to sign a contract and is thinking of deserting:
"My friend is a conscript, now he is in Kursk. He tried to get his commander to send him back to the unit, but it was useless. He was hit by a mortar once. In the training school they forced him to sign a contract, now they insist on it. Can you tell me if he is thinking of deserting, what are the possibilities to surrender or leave the country somehow?
5) A conscript was tied up and beaten to sign a contract:
“I have a friend who’s in Kursk right now. He was surrounded, but he escaped. Now our military has found them, but they are forcing them to sign a contract. One of the guys was tied up and beaten, they said that they would die anyway and it would be better to die in the forest. Is there any way to help them avoid signing a contract and have their friend transferred from this zone?”
6) Conscripts from the Tyumen region are told that "everyone will be there anyway":
“In the Tyumen region they also collect conscripts and send them first to Yurga (Kemerovo region), and then they say they will send them to Kursk. The town of Ishim, engineer-sapper troops. The guys have been there since May, except for mowing grass, doing nothing, in the last couple of weeks they offered everyone a contract, and those who refused were told that everyone would be there anyway.”
7) Young conscripts are forced to sign contracts, distributed to military units, and until the last minute they are not told where to go - ‘two have gone to Kursk, two more today to Bryansk’:
“Help, please, a young man is in the army, he served only a month, and they did absolutely nothing because, quote, ‘we didn’t expect you, you are not needed here’. They tried to force them to sign a contract, drove them everywhere, and now they are distributing them to conflict zones. What to do? Help, please, it’s just a nightmare. They don’t tell them where to go until the last minute, I think it’s on purpose. They distribute them one by one, a few people at a time, two went to Kursk, two more today to Bryansk. I don’t know, thank you so much for being there and helping. There is no strength and tears and fear left.”
Conscripts are being prepared to be sent to the border in the Kursk region.3
1) We were approached by the fiancée of a conscript serving in Ussuriysk:
“My fiancé is doing his compulsory service in Ussuriysk, motorised rifle troops, and they say that in September they will send him to the border in Kursk. Can you tell me if there is any way to avoid this?”
2) A conscript who has served only 1.5 months is sent from the Leningrad region to the Kursk region:
“Hello, please tell me, conscript, served 1.5 months, in the military unit they were told that they will be sent in a month in the Kursk region, what to do? Help. The conscript is currently in the Leningrad region. Today he has not contacted us yet, we will wait, we are worried. We don’t have much time left.”
3) A girlfriend of a conscript applied, concerned that he might be sent to the Kursk region, and 15 men had already been sent there:
"Hello, now my soldier calls me and says that he may be sent to the Kursk region, as 15 boys were already taken away at night, what should I do?”
4) The mother of a conscript serving in Abkhazia reported that her son was on the list to be sent to Kursk region:
“Good day. My son is now doing active service in Abkhazia, Primorskoe. Yesterday he phoned, asking for all his details. Said, they are forming lists to send to Kursk. He was taken to the army on 5 July 2024. What can I do to prevent my son from being sent to the war zone?’.”
5) We were also approached by the sister of a conscript who has been serving for only 42 days - her brother will be sent to Kursk in September:
“My brother has been serving in the army since the 7th of July, it’s only been 42 days, they are being sent from Tuesday for training, and in September to Kursk, how to help him?”
6) On 22 August we were approached by relatives of a conscript who was taken prisoner in the Kursk region. The young man was conscripted in November 2023 from Ramenskoye and ended up on the border in Sudzha:
“Conscript. Conscripted from Ramensky District, Moscow Region. Sent to Voronezh Region, Boguchar. From there they were sent to Kursk, Sudzha; they also stood near the village of Plekhovo. He texted that they were defeated and they were in the forest. A friend was wounded in the leg. They did not get in touch any more. The day before yesterday we saw his call sign in the lists of prisoners. Yesterday the Ukrainians called his mother, showed him on video, and told him to draw up documents for an exchange.
We filed an application on the website of the Ombudsman for Human Rights, the Ministry of Defence does not pick up the phone, the military prosecutor’s office also does not pick up the phone, we are trying to get through on the second day.
We would like to know where else we can contact directly and how the exchange is carried out, how long we have to wait for it, and how we can speed it up.”4
7) The girlfriend of a conscript from the Moscow region is worried that her boyfriend may be sent to Kursk:
“I am the girlfriend of a conscript from the Moscow region. I see a lot of information that conscripts from this military unit of the Moscow region will be sent to Kursk. Maybe you have some advice on how to hide him (most likely it will be AWOL and I will bring him to my home). He’s scared because he doesn’t know how to hide. He wants to finish his service so he won’t get into trouble, but if they send him to the war zone, there’s no way out.”5
8) Mother of a conscript:
“My son’s in the conscription service, there’s talk of Kursk. Last week they took the boys to dig trenches. Now they say they’re prisoners. My son was taken away on the 3rd of July. I just don’t know what to do in this situation. Where to run, who to turn to. My son calls me once a week. That’s their policy. They’re in training now, and I don’t know where they’ll be assigned.”5
9) Parents of a conscript from the Leningrad region:
“A conscript sent to the border in Kursk serves only 1.5 months, has no military training. Is there any way to prevent him from being sent? We have studied the presidential decree and the regulations on the order of military service, and it says that a conscript can be sent to the border only if he has served for at least four months and then received training. But our situation is different. What should we do?”5
10) We were approached by a woman - her boyfriend is ready to desert:
“The conscript, serving in the Omsk region, will be transferred to the Kursk region in September:
My fiancé was drafted from the Rostov region. He was assigned to the Omsk region, a branch of the airborne troops. Commanders say that closer to September it is possible to transfer to the Kursk region. It has been less than two months since his conscription, and he has learned nothing.”5
Footnotes
1 https://t.me/iditelesom_help/3933
2 https://t.me/iditelesom_help/3927
3 https://t.me/iditelesom_help/3926
4 https://t.me/iditelesom_help/3924
5 https://t.me/iditelesom_help/3918
Idite Lesom, Stories of Conscripts, August 26, 2024
Keywords: ⇒ Military ⇒ Recruitment ⇒ Russia