Entire Russian battalion from Crimea refuses to fight in Ukraine
The reconnaissance battalion of the Russian army, stationed in the annexed Crimea, refused to take part in hostilities in Ukraine, reported Telegram channel ASTRA, citing an order to issue a strong warning to the battalion commander.
From the document published by the news outlet, it follows that the battalion commander was reprimanded for "a low level of work with personnel."
"They refused because there are very large losses. They don't want to die in vain," said one of the relatives of the soldier who signed the waiver report.
According to relatives, the battalion is part of the 127th reconnaissance brigade of the military unit 67606. These special forces unit of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was formed in the second half of 2014 in Sevastopol. The battalion is fully staffed with contract service soldiers.
After refusing to take part in the war, the battalion is still in the territory of Ukraine.
In mid-November, twelve newly mobilized Russians from the Novosibirsk region refused to go to the front line in Ukraine. "I do not agree to serve in combat advanced units because of the lack of moral, psychological, physical training," one of them wrote in a report.
Earlier, ASTRA reported that that there are seven detention centers for those Russian soldiers who refused to fight. They are located in the occupied Ukrainian territories: in Zaitseve, Perevalsk, Rubizhne and Kreminna, Luhansk region, as well as in Zavitne Bazhannya, Dokuchaievsk and Staromlynivka of the Donetsk region. According to the news outlet, about 300 mobilized Russians were held in Zaitseve alone in November.