They have started transferring conscripts to the border with Ukraine, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a military special operation, who are forcibly transferred to contract service. Andrei Kurochkin, deputy chairman of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, told the Internet edition of So Matters.
According to him, conscripts who were recently drafted into the army were sent to the border with Ukraine for exercises. They inform their parents that their military ID cards have changed from conscript status to contract status.
"They are transferring [to contract] whole regiments, even though the guys did not submit any reports for this, did not show initiative. There are facts of physical violence, beatings of those who refuse to become contract servicemen. Then there is a total uncertainty, because the phones are taken away from them. We get a barrage of calls from frightened mothers from all over Russia. They are crying, they don't know if their children are alive and healthy. Problems related to food supply have already receded into the background," said Kurochkin.
The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia is preparing complaints to the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office, the Public Chamber of the Defense Ministry and other agencies demanding not to transfer conscripts to contract service.
"If there is a war, it should be fought by professionals, not by untrained "green" children. We have already experienced this in Afghanistan and Chechnya. The fact that this, moreover, happens under compulsion, is a complete disaster," Kurochkin concluded.
