INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Russian military court has sentenced eight mobilized soldiers to prison terms of up to seven years for deserting their unit in eastern
Ukraine, the independent Mediazona news websitereported Tuesday, citing their lawyer.The soldiers had been sent to a field camp in the
Mediazona said.The soldiers, who complained of a lack of equipment and provisions, had been set to go to the front on Dec
court in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad found all seven men guilty of desertion committed by an organized group and failure to comply
with orders during a period of mobilization or armed conflict, Mediazona reported.Junior sergeant Yevgeny Kravchenko and private Alexander
Bogachenko were sentenced to seven years in prison; sailor Alexander Babeshko and private Nikolai Kolmachev to six years; and mobilized
for wartime acts including desertion and "voluntary" surrender shortly after the start of its mobilization campaign last year.According to
the law, desertion during a period of mobilization or wartime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while conscientious objectors face
a sentence of up to three years.
