Crimean military court imprisons Donetsk native for desertion from Russian army

The military court in Crimea, created by the occupiers, sentenced Oleg Lyashchenko to 5.5 years in prison in a maximum security colony for desertion of the occupation army.

This was reported by Holos Kryma.

The accusation is that in 2023, while serving under contract as a grenade launcher, the man arbitrarily left the military unit and returned to his family, which lives in occupied Crimea.

A native of Donetsk was accused of having left the military unit without permission in 2023 while serving in the occupation army as a grenade launcher and returned to his family in occupied Crimea.

In particular, it was clarified that in early 2022, Lyashchenko went to a three-day military field training camp in Donetsk, was soon mobilized by the local 'military enlistment office' and, after the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, took part in hostilities on the side of the occupying power.

Lyashchenko's defense insisted on his complete acquittal, arguing that he could not have been mobilized in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region as a citizen of Russia and did not sign a contract to serve in the occupation army, but the Russian military court upheld the verdict.

In particular, in the temporarily occupied Simferopol, the occupation authorities have tightened control over civilians under the guise of military "exercises".

Gauleiter Aksyonov announced the next "exercises" with the participation of Bars-Krym units, the Russian Ministry of Defense and other law enforcement agencies. Although these measures are formally explained by the need to counteract the "infiltration of sabotage groups," the very rhetoric of enhanced "inspection measures" suggests that under the guise of training, massive interference by security forces in the lives of civilians is being legalized.

The security forces have been instructed to check the documents, cell phones and contacts of residents, with special attention being paid to social media subscriptions, correspondence and family ties to Ukraine.

Earlier, in the temporarily occupied Yevpatoria, the Russian occupation authorities tightened control at the entrances and exits of the city. According to the guerrillas, the tightening of control in Yevpatoria is due to intensified checks at checkpoints. It is recorded that the security forces selectively stop cars and almost all buses, conducting a thorough inspection of trunks and personal belongings of passengers.

Катерина Глушко