At least 11 members of Russia’s Rosgwardia National Guard in the Khakassia region have reportedly refused to take part in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine war.
According to New Focus, a Russian-language news outlet based in Russia’s Khakassia region of southern Siberia, the group personally told a senior general from Rosgwardia — the National Guard, which plays a primarily policing role in Russia — that they were unwilling to take part in the invasion.
They were then reportedly removed from a border camp and sent back to Khakassia, where the leadership tried to dismiss the group for being “unsuitable for the position”.
The 11 Rosgvardia members are ready to challenge the leadership’s decisions, according to the publication.
Newsweek is attempting to verify the information.
According to the news agency, the special forces believe that the command is trying to hide information from the Kremlin about the real losses of Russian troops in Ukraine, in particular about the deaths of many Siberian security forces in Putin’s so-called “military special operation”. in Ukraine.
Special forces were reportedly ordered by commanders to remain silent about the wounded and about day-to-day operations in Ukraine. Members have been instructed not to even share details with their families.
The publication noted that the figures were “alarmed and scared” about the consequences they could face, especially after 12 National Guardsmen were fired in Krasnodar for refusing to go to war in Ukraine and lawsuits over had filed wrongful dismissal.
Mikhail Benyash, a Russian lawyer who said he would defend the 12 National Guardsmen, said about 1,000 people had contacted his team.
“A lot of people don’t want to go out and fight,” Benyash told the Financial Times in an article published Friday.
Human rights lawyer Pavel Chikhov said in a post on the Telegram messaging service that Captain Farid Chitav and 11 of his Rosgvardia subordinates refused to invade Ukraine on February 25, arguing that the orders were “illegal”.
“None of them were informed about a business trip to the territory of Ukraine to participate in a special military operation or about the tasks and conditions of this operation, and consequently they did not agree to it,” Chikhov wrote.
At least seven members of Russia’s National Guard have been killed in combat since Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine on February 24, according to Meduza, an independent Russian-language news outlet based in Latvia.
Just last week, viral video surfaced that appeared to show angry Russian soldiers complaining that they were ill-equipped and being ordered to go to a region of Ukraine with no clear planning from Moscow.
Estimates of the number of Russian troop losses have so far varied, with Kyiv claiming it could be as high as 16,000. Russia’s armed forces have also been hit by a loss of commanders, and Kyiv claims more than half a dozen generals have been killed.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
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Soldiers of the Russian Police and National Guard (Rosgvardia) patrol the Red Square in central Moscow, October 20, 2021 amid the crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic. At least 11 members of Russia’s Rosgwardia National Guard in the Khakassia region reportedly refused to take part in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine war. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images