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According to the court, which identified the man by the initial
K., the soldier was called up for service last September during
what the Russian government described as a "partial"
mobilisation of 300,000 reservists.
It said K. absconded from his unit in mid-December and was
caught on March 3. Later that month, he deserted again, only to
be found in early April.
Siberia.Realities, a local project of U.S. government-funded
news outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, identified the
soldier as Ivan Klester.
Last month a military court in Russia’s Far East sentenced a
soldier to nine years for deserting three times. The man pleaded
guilty, saying that he had to care for his sick wife, Russian
newspaper Kommersant reported.
President Vladimir Putin signed a law last September to toughen
punishments for a host of crimes such as desertion, damage to
military property and insubordination if they are committed
during military mobilisation or combat situations.
There is little data on how many have been convicted under the
codes, although cases of soldiers refusing to fight have also
surfaced.
Russia’s combat preparedness is under heightened scrutiny as
Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive takes shape, and
following a mutiny late last month by the Wagner mercenary group
that had fought some of Russia's bloodiest battles against
Ukrainian forces.
TASS news agency quoted a Russian lawmaker, Colonel General
Andrei Kartapolov, as saying on Monday that "no new wave of
mobilisation will be required", despite Wagner's departure from
the battlefield.
(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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