Russia jails first soldier who refused to go to war in Ukraine

Two Russian soldiers patrol an administrative area at the Khersonvodokanal (water channel) in Kherson in Ukraine earlier this year. Photo / AP

Russia has jailed a career soldier for nearly two years for refusing to fight in Ukraine, in the first prosecution under a far-reaching new law to punish defectors.

A military court in Russia’s Far East convicted Alexei Breusov of “refusing to follow orders in wartime or during mobilisation” - a new offence that President Vladimir Putin signed into law in September as he drafted 300,000 reservists into the army to shore up Russia’s foundering war effort.

Since the invasion of Ukraine began in February, the Kremlin has been trying to instil fear in Russian soldiers, calling potential defectors traitors, while TV propagandists have warned troops of potential criminal prosecution.

But Breusov’s prosecution has blindsided support groups that have been advising soldiers that a dismissal would be the worst thing that could happen to them if they refused to fight.

Hundreds of career soldiers refused to go to war in Ukraine in the early months of the invasion, and there was little the government could do about it.

A group of at least 300 soldiers from one brigade in Dagestan who refused to deploy in March were subsequently fired but never faced any charges, as Russia has not officially declared war on Ukraine or declared martial law.

The new offence was signed into law in September by President Vladimir Putin, here seen with a soldier at a military training centre in Russia a few months back. Photo / AP

Breusov, whose rank is not listed in the case file, was serving in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the remote Kamchatka peninsula when he was given an order to deploy to Ukraine in early October, local media outlet Kam 24 reported on Tuesday.

He “was aware of the mobilisation declared in Russia but was unwilling to take part in hostilities and refused to follow the commanding officer’s order to deploy to the area of the special military operation”, Kam 24 reported, quoting the court’s verdict.

He was sentenced to one year and eight months in an open prison. The appeal is expected to be heard next month.

As well as career soldiers, hundreds of mobilised Russian men have reportedly refused to fight once they were sent to Ukraine.

Many of them were detained and spent days in locked premises such as basements. Some of them are now suing the government for illegally depriving them of their freedom.