Helpline for relatives of Russian soldiers and officers:
With this helpline, you can find out if your relatives are alive, captured, injured, or how to resolve an issue with pick up a body of a deceased relative.
You can leave a short message for your husband or son if your loved one is our captive.
Could the military refuse to fight?
NO
Commanders are prohibited from issuing orders and directives aimed at violating Russian law, according to Article 37 of the law on military duty and military service.
“A person who has committed an intentional crime in pursuance of a knowingly illegal order or instruction shall bear criminal liability on a general basis. Failure to execute a knowingly illegal order or instruction excludes criminal liability, ”says Article 42 of the Criminal Code of Russia.
There is also Article 353 in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which says, that the planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 7 to 15 years.
Of course - YES
However, this is punishable (unless the order is a crime)
There is strict discipline in the army. As stated in the Charter of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Russia, subordinates are obliged to unquestioningly carry out the orders of the commander or chief. Discussion or criticism of the order is not allowed. This leads to disciplinary or criminal liability. Failure to comply with an order is considered a crime against military service.
Only after the order has been executed, a serviceman who disagrees with it can appeal against it, the same document says.
What word can describe the refusal to go to fight in Ukraine? Probably desertion. In the Criminal Code of Russia, this article is described as follows: "unauthorized leaving a unit or place of service in order to evade military service, as well as failure to appear for the same purposes in the service." For this, you can get up to seven years in prison. If a soldier deserts with a weapon - up to ten years.
