Journalists identify 22 men from occupied territories who serve in Russian army – media
Pravda Ukraine
Investigators have identified 22 young men from the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts who have voluntarily agreed or been forced to agree to serve in the Russian army.
Source: Suspilne, the Ukrainian public broadcaster
Details: Suspilne suggested that most of these boys were 8 to 15 years old at the beginning of the war in 2014, and their views have been shaped by the occupation environment.
The journalists have learned the names of 22 young men from the occupied territories who have become Russian conscripts but cannot confirm whether they made this decision voluntarily or were forced to do so, although some of the men openly support Russia. If they were forced to serve in the occupation army, this would fall under the Geneva Convention.
Pressure and propaganda aimed at ensuring voluntary enlistment is covered by article 51 of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits occupying powers from compelling persons under its protection to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces.
Quote: “However, with regard to many of those identified, we have doubts about the voluntary nature of their conscription. We tried to call them or their relatives and sent questions to the messengers we could find. We asked them whether they had joined the service voluntarily. We also asked similar questions of three conscripted Crimean residents.
All of them ignored our questions.”
This news has been updated since publication.
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