Russian military officials are pressuring conscripts to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry by threatening them with espionage charges, according to a report by the independent outlet Sibir.Realii.
Journalists documented the fates of several soldiers who refused to go to war. One went missing, a second died by suicide, and a third died under unclear circumstances.
“I decided to die here, on my native land, without someone else’s blood on my hands. I would like them to be jailed for driving a person to suicide, but that’s not done in Russia. I hate them!” the outlet quoted from a suicide note left by one conscript.