Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
That says a lot about how the Russian military is treating its soldiers …
When the reality of a brutal conflict sets in, survival instinct can lead to desperate decisions.
For individuals trapped in an unending deployment, conventional routes of escape often disappear completely.
That leaves them searching for any possible exit, no matter how harsh the alternative might seem.
Desperate escape plans
A recent investigation by the independent Russian outlet Mediazona, cited by United24Media, exposes a troubling trend among frontline soldiers.
Some servicemen are trying to get locked up in prison just to escape the fighting.
Troops are turning themselves in to investigators, writing full confessions, and even hiring defense lawyers. They hope a judge will sentence them to hard time behind bars. A cold cell looks like paradise compared to the front lines.
This strange strategy is a direct result of Vladimir Putin’s September 2022 mobilization order. Under those rules, military contracts do not have an end date. Soldiers can only leave if they turn 65, are declared medically unfit, or go to prison.
Inside holding camps
One former English teacher turned volunteer, Anton Putyatov, tried this desperate tactic after being wounded near Pokrovsk. He repeatedly confessed to unauthorized leave, practically begging for a cell.
Instead, commanders sent him to a temporary military holding camp. Scattered across the country, these harsh containment sites exist only to hold men before guards force them back to the front lines.
Lawyers say military officials regularly ignore active criminal cases. “In practice, commanders simply take these servicemen back to the front line even during an active criminal investigation, and the investigator suspends the case due to the accused participating in the war,” one lawyer told Mediazona.
Fighting the system
The legal battle has created a bizarre new industry. Some defense lawyers now specialize in helping deserters secure actual prison time instead of suspended sentences.
These legal teams look for specific judicial districts with poor prosecution statistics. If an investigator wants to boost their numbers, they might actually push the desertion case to trial. Russian law punishes desertion with up to fifteen years in prison. Yet many troops now see a cell as their only ticket home.
Activists like Vladimir Berngardt help these desperate men through a project called Tverdy Znak. “He kept saying, ‘I’d rather serve time than go back into assault units,’” Berngardt recalled about one detained soldier. “But in the end, military police officers simply dragged him away and sent him back.”
Meanwhile, partisan groups report that manpower shortages are getting worse. Russian forces are even forcing untrained staff in occupied regions into frontline units.
Sources: Mediazona, United24Media
