Russian commanders execute soldiers who refuse to fight in Ukraine – "Verstka" investigation

The command of the Russian army tortures, executes, or deliberately sends to their death soldiers who refuse to fight in Ukraine. This is stated in an investigation by the independent publication "Verstka," which documented over 150 confirmed cases of murders and tortures, with 101 Russian officers identified as involved. This is reported by The Guardian, writes UNN.

Details

Journalists, relying on testimonies from soldiers, relatives, and video footage, report that commanders appointed "shooters" to eliminate refuseniks, dropped grenades from drones on their own troops, and disguised the bodies of victims as combat losses. Some soldiers were thrown into pits, tortured, forced to fight to the death, or extorted for money to avoid "suicide missions."

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The investigation also shows that such practices, which originated in penal battalions composed of former prisoners, have now spread to regular army units. In the first half of 2025, the main military prosecutor's office of the Russian Federation received about 29,000 complaints, of which more than 12,000 were about abuse by their own command.

Despite numerous pieces of evidence, almost none of the officers have been punished. Sources of "Verstka" in the military prosecutor's office say that in Russia, there is effectively a ban on investigating crimes committed by commanders at the front – under the pretext of "not obstructing combat operations."

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