Russia's Maxim Kochetkov has been imprisoned on an island near Japan, about 10,000 km from his home. Maxim Kochetkov is among many Russian soldiers who are prisoners of war and do not want to fight with Ukraine. Maxim, 20, is being sentenced, like thousands of Russian soldiers, for disobeying Putin's order to attack Ukraine. Most of them are from the outskirts of Russia or poor areas.
The plight of the soldiers reinforces a claim by US defense officials last week that there are signs of problems with discipline and morale in the Russian military. According to the news of DailyMail, this has been confirmed in Russian media reports. One report also gives figures of soldiers who refused to fight, such as Maxim, who numbered 1,793. It said several soldiers were imprisoned by mercenaries affiliated with the Kremlin in "torture rooms" and basements in Luhansk. Russian officials have been fighting in Ukraine for five months and are threatening troops to return to the front lines.
At least 234 people have been held in detention centers in the Bryanka city of Luhansk, according to Verstka, an independent Russian newspaper.
A man said his son was kept in the basement for two weeks along with 33 others. A woman said her son was arrested on July 12 and imprisoned underground without food, water, and electricity. Similarly, another father has told about the 'torture room .'Russian military law allows soldiers to refuse to fight. But human rights activists say commanders facing a shortage of military forces often turn down their demands or threaten to stop. One soldier, out of a group of 200 who refused to fight, said only a few of them were able to return to their homes.
While many others were imprisoned in Bryanka's cellar or sent back to the front lines.