Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers saved their lives by crossing over to Russia on Aug. 1-4 after being shelled from all around for weeks. But now some of them are at risk of losing their freedom as five soldiers go on trial in Russia, while another one is accused of desertion in Ukraine.
The
72nd brigade of the Ukrainian army was for weeks cut off
from supplies and reinforcements in Luhansk region close to the
Russian border and shelled by the Russians and separatists from all
sides. Seeing no other way to escape, 302 soldiers of this brigade
crossed over to Russia. All of them wanted to return to Ukraine, but
five were arrested and are set to face trial on July 8 in the city of
Krasny Sulin in Rostov region. They are accused of shelling the
Russian territory.
“These
five soldiers were kidnapped from the tent camp in the night before
Aug. 7 and then it turned out they were already questioned at the
police station,” said Oleksandr Arseniuk, spokesman of Ukraine’s
Consulate in Rostov-on-Don.
Arseniuk
said that after the Russian prosecutor officially charges them, the
soldiers most probably will stay under arrest – a procedure that
the Ukrainian diplomat called “completely illegal.”
The
Russian embassy refused to comment on this issue.
Andriy
Lysenko, spokesman of the National Security and Defense Council, said
the charges against the Ukrainian officers were “way overdone”
and Ukraine will do its best to help the soldiers.
At
the same time, an officer from the same brigade, Captain Oleksandr
Portianenko, is under trial in Ukraine as a result of the same
border-crossing, life-saving move. Porteniako was the man who
negotiated with both the Russian border guards and representatives of
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to set up the
safe passage of his troops.
As
a result, the military prosecutor is charging him with desertion –
a charge that can send him to prison for up to 12 years. A court in
the city of Dnipropetrovsk on Aug. 6 released Portianenko on bail and
now he is waiting for the next hearing. It is not yet clear when it
will take place, though.
But
the soldiers from the 72nd brigade believe that
Portianenko saved their lives when he started negotiating with the
Russian side after the servicemen spent weeks under the constant fire
of Grad multiple rocket launchers.
“Initially
there were no plans to cross the border. We wanted to go along the
zero line, neutral territory,” said Denys, soldier of 72 brigade,
who refused to give his last name, fearing retribution. He is now a
witness in Portenianko’s case.
Denys
was among the first 12 servicemen who crossed over to Russia through
the Gukovo border crossing point late on Aug. 2. He said they spent
less than 24 hours on the Russian territory and then were sent back
to Ukraine.
He
said the soldiers spent almost three weeks under fire, hungry and
lacking even the basic ammunition suitable for their weapons. “The
ammo that was dropped to us (from air) was not of the kind we needed,
so we couldn’t use it,” Denys said.
The
brigade was losing men to constant shelling, and could not even
respond. They were banned from shooting back towards the Russian
territory altogether due to fears that it might provoke a full-scale
invasion by the Russian troops.
“When
I once counted the dead bodies, there were 12 people killed. But then
I stopped as there were just pieces of bodies,” Denys recalls.
Now
Denys, along with most of servicemen of 72th brigade, is back to his
unit’s home base in Bila Tserkva of the Kyiv region. He believes
that the decision to cross over to Russia was the only reasonable way
to avoid further losses.
“What
was a reason to stand there when we were just killed off and had
nothing to defend?” he said. “Would it be useful for the
country?!”
Kyiv
Post staff writer Oksana Grytsenko can be reached
at [email protected]
