Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Digest of the Movement of Conscientious Objection Russia

December 2023

(31.01.2024) Hello, dear friend. This is Artem Klyga, the advocacy manager of the Russian MCO. I want to share some news from December and update you on our activities in the last month of the past year. December was marked by unprecedented raids on conscripts. President Putin instructed the Ministry of Defense to launch an electronic register of military conscription from the fall of 2024. We continued to assist conscientious objectors in courts, military commissariats and draft commissions.

Ukraine: Answers to questions about conscientious objection, recruitment and residence in Germany

(31.01.2024) Since the Russian attack, over 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 130,000 seriously injured. The recapture of the territories occupied by Russia has not yet been successful. To fill the gaps in the army, which is currently estimated at 800,000 soldiers, Ukraine is now trying to recruit 450,000 to 500,000 new soldiers. Even many who consider the war to be justified see themselves merely as cannon fodder in this war of position and attrition from which they want to escape. They, their relatives and the German public are therefore increasingly sending enquiries to Connection e.V., which we hereby answer.

Now on the YouTube channel @RefusetoKill: Conversations with the Russian conscientious objectors Danil and Vladimir

"Those who are against the war waged by Putin’s regime should speak out together in public"

(24.01.2024) In October 2023, Connection e.V. interviewed the two conscientious objectors Danil and Vladimir from Russia. The interviews were conducted in Russian and can now be streamed on the YouTube channel (at)RefusetoKill. Both English and German subtitles are available.

Video of the interview with Danil: https://youtu.be/esNiz1bbMCc

Video of the interview with Vladimir: https://youtu.be/2sILReKS4ZI

Ukraine blatantly violates the human rights of peace activists and conscientious objectors

(29.12.2023) The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and Connection e.V. (Germany) express their deep disappointment and grave concerns about the continuing harassment of peace activists and conscientious objectors, including arbitrary prosecutions and unfair judgments, as well as the inappropriate provisions of the new mobilization bill No 10378 of 25.12.2023 proposed by the Ukrainian army. All charges against peace activists and conscientious objectors should be dropped, and those in prison should be released immediately and unconditionally, given that they are clearly prisoners of conscience. Moreover, the new bill about conscription should include provisions for the full recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service.