Russian soldiers who
refuse to fight in Ukraine are being held captive in ‘torture pits’, it has
been claimed.
Contracted troops who request
to leave the front are reportedly being sent into custody in Moscow-held areas
of the Luhansk oblast before being shipped back out into the war.
It is understood soldiers were
promised leave after three months’ service and the opportunity to opt to be
removed from the war completely.
But the agreement was
allegedly reneged upon when some soldiers submitted refusal letters and they
were instead arrested and taken to the city of Bryanka.
According to reports, they
were held in horrendous conditions with eye witness accounts referring to
“pits of some kind” and “torture”.
The father of one of the
soldiers arrested told The Insider that they have been held for over
a month.
He believes the captors are
Moscow-backed militants and understands the conditions in the ‘prison’ are
terrible.
“Some pits, torture and
the like. This is what the people who come from there say.
At the same time, the man
noted that the soldiers did not want to return to the front.
“They no longer want to
be up to their necks in the blood of their friends and close officers,” he
explained.
The dad said his son signed
the contract before the start of the war.
After that an order came in
for a ‘special operation’ but they were told they wouldn’t be involved in
hostilities as they hadn’t had any combat training, he claimed.
It is understood at least 234
Russian soldiers from different military units are being held in Luhansk, with
many in basements and garages.
The man’s son and his
colleagues from the Sakhalin military unit submitted their refusals to
participate on July 8.
He then told his dad he had
been summoned to meet with a general before being taken to a basement and
forced to work unloading warehouses.
The soldier reportedly said
the ‘Refuseniks’ are being given the choice to return to their unit or go to
another, but they have to return to the front.
The man said his son stopped
communicating on July 19.
It comes as Ukraine has
forged ahead on Monday with efforts to restart grain exports from its Black Sea
ports under a deal aimed at easing global food shortages but said a weekend
missile strike by Russian forces on Odesa underlined the risks to deliveries.
