Russia may charge volunteer fighters who surrender, desert or refuse to carry out orders with a crime, as the Kremlin seeks to maintain discipline on the front lines in Ukraine.
Russian lawmakers have proposed amendments to the Criminal Code that would equate punishments for volunteers with those for professional soldiers, according to a document published on the parliament’s website. Under current legislation, volunteers are not criminally liable for such actions.
Russia recruited many volunteer fighters for its invasion of Ukraine with the promise of high pay for a tour of duty lasting several months. However, it has extended their tours indefinitely due to a lack of manpower.
President Vladimir Putin said last week that all fighters would remain on the front line until the war was over. Analysts say he is reluctant to launch another large-scale mobilisation ahead of presidential elections in March. Putin ordered a mobilisation in September 2022, sparking anger and the flight of hundreds of thousands of men abroad to avoid conscription.
Some volunteer fighters who have completed their contracts have left, while others have refused to carry out orders they consider suicidal, according to videos posted on social media. Russia has sent soldiers to attack Ukrainian positions in what have been described as ‘human waves’, resulting in large numbers of casualties.
US intelligence estimates that more than 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in fighting in Ukraine.