Russian soldiers seek justice after forced return to front line
30 August 2024 10:42
Two Russian soldiers deserted from the front in Ukraine after being released from captivity and sent back to the combat line. This should not happen, as the Geneva Conventions prohibit it. However, Russia ignores the law, and both men must fight for justice in Moscow. This information was reported on the Telegram channel "Ostorozhno, novosti."
As reported on the Telegram channel "Ostorozhno, novosti." 32-year-old Vasily Grigoryev and 45-year-old Dmitry Davydov were mobilised for service on the Ukrainian front in the autumn of 2022. Initially, they served in the Luhansk People's Republic, annexed by Russia, and then in the Belgorod region.
In the summer of 2023, both soldiers were wounded and captured. They were taken by fighters of the "Russian Volunteer Corps," a formation mainly composed of Russian volunteers who oppose Vladimir Putin's regime and fight on Ukraine's side in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.
For more than six months, Grigoryev and Davydov were held in an abandoned prison in Bucha, where they were repeatedly told that if they were sent back to the front upon returning to Russia, they would not be spared. This unequivocal warning certainly influenced their later decisions.
In January 2024, Grigoryev and Davydov returned to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange. After a month of rehabilitation, they were sent to Shebekino in the Belgorod region but did not stay there long. At the end of May, the former prisoners were transferred to the war zone in the Volchansk region of the Kharkiv region, where they first dealt with the evacuation of the wounded and fallen and then were assigned to dig trenches and bunkers.
Russians fled the army by hitchhiking to Moscow
On 26 August, Grigoryev and Davydov deserted their unit and hitchhiked to Moscow. Along with their lawyer, they plan to file a complaint with the military prosecutor's office, reporting abuses by their commanders. This could mean trouble ahead for them.
The soldiers emphasise that they do not refuse to serve, but their commanders had no right to send them to the front line. According to the Geneva Convention, former prisoners of war are not allowed to participate in active military service, which they believe has been violated.
What will happen next for Grigoryev and Davydov? We don't know. One thing is certain: the entire situation raises numerous questions about the observance of international laws in the context of the current conflict and highlights the challenges faced by soldiers returning from captivity, especially those in the Russian Federation, where international law is not respected.
