Russian soldier Yaroslav Tipusyak spent his 19th birthday as a prisoner of war in Ukraine – just one day after he was captured by Kiev forces in Russia’s Kursk region last week.
He completed his compulsory military service – the mandatory year of service that all Russian men must complete – and never crossed the Ukrainian border to take part directly in the war.
“I am not good at politics, I have never been interested in (news about) the war,” Tipusyak said in an interview from his captivity that was released by Ukraine and may have been recorded under duress.
“For conscripts, the main goal is to finish their service, get this piece of paper and that’s it, so the state leaves them alone. They don’t need anything else,” he said.
The involvement of conscripts in direct combat operations is widely unpopular in Russia. Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began, President Vladimir Putin said: promised that conscripts “will not take part in hostilities.”
However, reports of conscripts being drawn into combat operations during the Ukrainian forces’ breakthrough at Kursk have prompted their families to once again appeal to the authorities for a change in policy regarding their deployments and, according to experts, have highlighted the “disorganised nature” of Russia’s regular battalions.
In addition to Tipusyak, at least three other recruits from Kursk were identified as prisoners of war: Maxim Hyamyalainen (21), Daniel Kolesnikov (22) and Vladislav Kychkov (20) – after Ukrainian Telegram channels published footage showing captured Russian soldiers.
Although there is no publicly available data on the number of conscripts in the Kursk region, Who else could be provided from other regions of Russia, More than 100 conscripts may have been stationed there at the time of the incursion this month and about 30 of them may now be in captivity, reports the independent media outlet Vyorstka. reportedciting his sources.
According to the mother of a conscript in Kursk, at least 52 families are asking the Russian Defense Ministry for information on the whereabouts of their sons after contact with them has been lost.
In addition to seeking answers from the Defense Ministry, the families have also launched a petition calling on Putin to withdraw conscripts from the combat zone around Kursk.
“We are the mothers of conscripts and we ask you to withdraw conscripts from combat zones. They have no experience in military operations and lack weapons,” says Oksana Deeva, the mother of a conscript serving in the village of Korenevo near the Ukrainian border. said in the petition.
“A large-scale offensive is currently taking place on our territory. Please save the lives of untrained soldiers in combat,” says the petition, which currently has over 7,700 signatures.
Conscription is a compulsory period of service in the armed forces required of all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 to acquire basic military skills. Avoid conscription is punishable with up to two years in prison.
Many conscripts – like Tipusyak, who said in the video that he was not prepared for combat – lack the training and experience needed for active combat.
“We went to the shooting range once. I fired two shots. Some were lucky and hit three or four shots. I didn’t shoot any more,” Tipusyak recalls of his military training.
The participation of less well-trained conscripts in combat operations alongside professional contract soldiers has been extremely unpopular in the past. especially during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Chechen wars.
Nevertheless, under the law, conscripts are considered “military personnel with all the rights and obligations that entail,” Sergei Krivenko, director of the human rights group Citizen. Army. Rights, told the Moscow Times.
According to Russian law, a conscript can be sent into combat duty just four months after being drafted and receiving his first military specialization for special tasks.
“After four months, there are no restrictions at all – they are full-fledged soldiers and can be deployed not only in Ukraine but anywhere in the world,” Krivenko said.
One of the largest incidents involving conscripts during the invasion of Ukraine was the sinking of the missile cruiser Moskva in April 2022. Accordingly independent Russian media, up to 500 employees served on the flagship, two-thirds some of whom may have been conscripts.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed only one death, adding that 27 people were missing and 396 had been rescued. Independent media reported up to 40 deaths.
In total, at least 159 Russian conscripts have been killed since the beginning of the war. accordingly the BBC’s Russian service and the news website Mediazona, which maintain a list of confirmed deaths of Russian soldiers.
After the invasion of Kursk, Duma deputy Andrei Gurulev confirmed that conscripts had been involved in combat operations, a departure from the authorities’ usual efforts to downplay the presence of conscripts in combat zones.
“In this conflict, conscripts in the Kursk region successfully defended themselves against the attack of an entire brigade, and not a single soldier was killed,” he said. said.
Also reports said that conscripts evacuated from Kursk after the Ukrainian attack were allegedly forced to sign military contracts in order to be sent back to the border. Relatives of conscripts told the telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti that conscripts of the 80th Motorized Rifle Division from the Murmansk region were being prepared for their deployment in the Kursk region.
“There is a difference in public consciousness: conscripts are forcibly drafted to defend the fatherland, while contract soldiers volunteer,” Krivenko said.
According to Krivenko, one of the problems is that the military units are mixed and consist of conscripts, temporary soldiers and mobilized personnel, which makes it very difficult for the leadership to distinguish conscripts from temporary soldiers.
This view was also shared by the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
“The disorganized nature of Russia’s regular battalions … as well as the involvement of conscripts, FSB personnel and Rosgvardia elements in the fight will hamper Russian efforts to build an effective command and control structure,” the think tank said. said.
Although the use of conscripts in combat zones is not officially prohibited, the fact that no conscripts are being sent to the front is due to “the goodwill of the president and the defense minister,” Krivenko told the Moscow Times.
“There are still many risks for conscripts and (the situation in Kursk) is unlikely to lead to significant changes (in their service),” he added.
