The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Garrison Court handed down a sentence of 2.5 years in prison to a soldier who refused to follow an order and participate in a special operation in Ukraine. This outcome was reported by the court’s press service.
According to the verdict, on November 22, 2023, the serviceman declined to comply with a command directing him to move to the zone of special military operations. He voiced his refusal in the presence of fellow personnel at a military unit in the Sakhalin region. The court also noted that the act occurred during a period of partial mobilization in the Russian Federation, which served as an aggravating circumstance.
Consequently, the serviceman was found guilty and received a sentence of 2.5 years in prison. He was taken into custody at the courthouse following the ruling.
Earlier, a separate criminal case was opened against a former Russian serviceman who had taken part in hostilities on the Ukrainian side. A previously convicted member of the SVO reportedly robbed a schoolboy on a trolleybus, with that sentence subsequently suspended.