Russian Commanders in Crimea Forge Signatures to Send Conscripts Into the Meat Grinder

Russian military commanders in temporarily occupied Crimea are allegedly forging documents to transfer conscripts to contract service and deploy them to combat zones without their consent, according to the partisan movement Atesh on February 22.

According to the movement’s Telegram channel, an agent embedded in a unit of Russia’s 810th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, stationed in Crimea, reported a “systemic practice” of illegally converting conscripts into contract soldiers.

The source stated that the scheme is not limited to a single unit but operates across the brigade and other Russian formations on the peninsula.

Commanders initially attempt to persuade conscripts to sign contracts by offering financial incentives, benefits, and promises of easier service. If those efforts fail, threats allegedly follow.

The agent described the process: “Commanders first try to persuade—offering money, benefits, and easier service. When that does not work, threats begin: we will send you to a penal unit, to frontline infantry, we will make your service unbearable. And if that does not help—they simply forge the signatures.”

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The agent further claimed that signatures were forged directly by senior personnel. “I personally saw a senior sergeant sign for three guys at once. The same handwriting on all the documents. The guys only found out about it when they were issued orders to be sent to the combat zone,” the statement reads.

According to Atesh, more than 15 individuals in the agent’s unit were reportedly processed under such circumstances over the past two months. The movement asserted that similar practices are occurring in other Russian military units across Crimea, describing the mechanism as operating “under a single scenario.”

Earlier, Ukraine’s 158th Separate Mechanized Brigade reported that five Russian servicemen surrendered on the North-Slobozhanskyi axis after two captured soldiers persuaded three others to lay down their arms. The brigade said Russian command opened fire on one of its own troops during the surrender.

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