Refuse the Draft or Enter the Meat Grinder? Russians Still Have a Choice

Russian military losses have surpassed 1.2 million soldiers, more than its entire pre-war army. This includes both those killed and the severely wounded who will never return to combat.

Despite these staggering numbers, Russia keeps advancing the only way it knows how, throwing its soldiers into meatgrinder assaults. Some are forced to the frontline on crutches, others are severely wounded. Russia, as a token of gratitude, has “rewarded” relatives of killed soldiers with a gift for laying their lives down for their nation, such as a meat grinder, other kitchen appliances, or even a bag of onions. 

The soldiers who refuse to take part in assaults are subjected to Russia’s widespread practice of summary executions, known as “obnuleniye” or “zeoring”, referring to killing one’s own comrades, for punishment or intimidation. 

Countless executions have been filmed by Russian forces, and the soldiers behind them are lionized for their atrocities. Violence and extrajudicial punishment for soldiers who refuse to fight or disobey orders have become commonplace. Russian forces have tied their comrades to trees, put them in so-called torture pits, depriving them of food and water, and physically torturing and beating them to death. 

Refusing mobilization in the first place can be far safer than facing the frontline, torture, or execution. If it’s too late, surrendering to Ukraine’s Armed Forces is the only way to survive—before the battlefield or brutal torture and executions decide their fate. 

Warning: The following material contains graphic content that may be distressing to some readers.

What happens if Russians refuse to be conscripted?

By the end of May 2025, more than 20,000 cases had been filed against Russians who refused to serve in the military during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Over 17,721 Russian troops were handed decade-long prison sentences for being absent without leave (AWOL), the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported. 

Before the full-scale invasion, refusal to be drafted typically resulted in a financial penalty. Now, prison sentences of several years are standard. While reports vary, draft evasion is reportedly punishable by up to 2 years' imprisonment, and in practice, courts typically impose fines rather than jail time. With support, Russians can also apply for “alternative civilian service” (AGS), which is a constitutional right in Russia but often likely ends up in a trial and potential sentencing. 

One case involved a young man named “Kirill” (i real name kept anonymous for security reasons) who was facing felony draft evasion charges. However, after “four or five hearings,” the judge fined Kirill just 20,000 rubles ($245), even less than the 150,000 rubles ($1,820) requested by the prosecutor. 

Yet, Russian courts hand out even harsher penalties for desertion or abandonment of military units than draft refusal. AWOL soldiers receive between 10-15 years in prison, Connection e.V., an organization supporting anti-war and anti-conscription efforts, reported.

Putin signed a decree on December 29, 2025, introducing year-round military conscription throughout 2026. This builds on the 2022 partial mobilisation decree, which effectively made military contracts open-ended. Soldiers cannot quit service unless they reach a specific age limit or become incapacitated by injury, and even incapacitation does not necessarily guarantee exemption from frontline duty.

Russian army brutality

Russian 37-year-old Corporal Alexei Kulyayev was beaten by his commander of the 239th Regiment (the Guards Tank Regiment) and spent nearly a week chained up to a tree, where he was kicked and had gas canisters thrown in his face, according to Okno  project, which interviewed him. 

When he was first conscripted, he was sent to the front with, according to medical records seen by Okno, an inguinal cyst, a torn meniscus (stage three), an intestinal hernia, and back pain. “I miraculously survived,” Kulyayev says. “The assaults were bloody and brutal. I returned home and decided: I'd rather face trial than go back.”However, not long after, he was sent back to the frontline where he refused to fight.  Kulyayev says that he and many other so-called refuseniks  , were badly beaten, tortured, and tied to trees.

Where are you sending me? To my death? I'd rather go to prison. I refuse. Come on, drag me to trial!

Alexei Kulyayev

Russian Corporal 239th Regiment

He managed to escape, and according to Okno, remains on the run to this day.

As more soldiers are tortured, mistreated, or even executed by their own commanders, prison becomes a rational alternative. If those who refuse mobilization face shorter sentences than those imposed after deployment, then accepting imprisonment before risking life and torture on the frontline is the more logical choice.

Sledgehammer execution

In one of the many brutal videos of the treatment conducted by Russia’s army of its own soldiers, is the sledgehammer execution of Russian soldier Dmitry Yakushenko. Soldiers strapped his head to a brick as he sat on the floor, head against the brick and wall, then struck it, killing him.

The video, too extreme to include in this article, was released by late Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in February 2023, who joked about the fate of Yakushenko, BBC reported. 

Don't treat everything so gloomily. The kids are having fun.

Yevgeny Prigozhin

Former Wagner Group leader

That wasn’t the first brutal execution that Wagner filmed and glorified. Another Russian soldier was brutally executed by a sledgehammer just a few months before. Yevgeny Nuzhin, a Russian soldier, described his role in Russian assaults as "cannon fodder" and said any failure to follow orders would mean summary execution. Later, Nuzhin was beaten to death with a sledgehammer, filmed by Wagner forces who shared the video, a warning to other Russian soldiers to obey their commanders. "A dog's death for a dog", Prigozhin called it. 

The human bomb

Russian soldiers strapped a landmine to a foreign mercenary, humiliated him, and forced him to run. “You are a bottle opener today,” a Russian soldier sneered. “Now he’s going to fucking run and jump around the woods.”

Terrified, the man begged “no, no” as the soldier pushed him with an automatic rifle. The video began circulating in early January 2026. His fate is unknown—whether he lived or died. 

Forced sexual assault 

Soldiers from the 345th Regiment of the 104th Guards Airborne Assault Division were stripped naked by senior Russian soldiers from the same division, and forced to stand in the freezing cold, before being sent to a hole and forced to have non-consensual sexual intercourse with each other. 

“They sit and watch. They laugh and pee on them. It's like watching TV,” Misha , who leaked the video to Verstka  told its reporters, adding that he tried to defend the abused men when he could. 

What are you doing, you fucking dog...Don't move, everyone stand still... And you run into the fucking hole to have sex... Run, you fat bitch.

Unknown Soldier

345th Regiment of the 104th Guards Airborne Assault Division

Human bait

A soldier who refused to act as a “beacon”—bait to draw Ukrainian fire—was beaten on video and then allegedly executed on a commander’s order, according to two of his comrades.

The executioners in the Russian army

Ladnov Evgeniy Borisovich is alleged to give shoot-to-kill orders for anyone retreating from their positions. Colleagues and relatives say that he has personally shot at the feet of soldiers who refused to go on missions and sent wounded and shell-shocked soldiers returning from missions back to the frontlines.

Those who refused were subject to machine gun fire, according to Verstka.

Why are there so many of you alive, bitches? The more “two hundred” (i) of you, the more stars on my shoulder straps and awards I get. You're not meat to me, you're just a number...I'll destroy you… I'll be bringing funeral notices to your wives, and I'll be fucking your wives.

Ladnov Evgeniy Borisovich

Former commander of Russia’s 25th Army, 67th Motorized Rifle Division, 19th Regiment, military unit 12322.

Ladnov was given several awards: two Orders of Courage, the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (1st and 2nd classes), the Order of Suvorov, the Medal "For Military Distinction," and other awards before he died  in 2024, Verstka reported. 

“The Nullifiers” is a Verstka project that has identified 101 Russian military executioners. It publishes information on soldiers who "nullify" their own comrades—killing, torturing them to death, and sending them on assaults from which they are unable to return alive.

Ilya Ivanov, known as "Boatswain" Deputy Brigade Commander and Colonel of the 51st Army, 5th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, has lost more than 30,000 soldiers since the full-scale invasion began.  

Boatswain “conducts combat operations incompetently, driving his men into senseless, brutal assaults without artillery support,” a source told Verstka, adding that he “forges contracts, kills civilians who witness his crimes, and bribes all law enforcement officers, even those in Moscow.”

Agaltsev Vladislavovich is the alleged perpetrator of the Russell Bentley murder. Bentley was a US citizen fighting on the side of the Russian forces. On orders from Boatswain, Agaltsev, of the 51st Army, 5th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, tortured Bentley in an abandoned mine, killed, and hid his body, according to Verstka. 

The wife of an anonymous Russian soldier who survived brutality conducted by battalion commander, Valery Yesayan, told Verstka that his unit killed their soldiers. “They put them in pits and shoot at them. They literally beat them to death. They send them to combat for fun. They take away their phones and bank cards. They extort money. Today, my husband miraculously survived this horror. Two guys were killed." Yesayan has been awarded “Hero of the DPR ”.

Anyone who doesn't go, fucking shoot them. Like traitors to the motherland. I'll send a special team to clean out those fucking faggots holed up there. Shoot a couple of the 500s right there.

Valery Yesayan

Battalion Commander 5th Army, 127th Motorized Rifle Division, 394th Motorized Rifle Regiment, military unit 25573

How can a Russian soldier surrender?

While shocking, “zeoring,” the execution of one’s own soldiers, is now routine in Russia’s army. For those facing forced conscription or frontline combat, Ukraine offers a path to safety: leaflets and drones instruct soldiers how to surrender.

The 24/7 I Want to Live project coordinates voluntary handovers, guiding troops via phone, messaging apps, or a chatbot. Surrendering soldiers can remain safely in captivity until the end of hostilities, after which they may seek asylum abroad or return to Russia. 

Since its launch, the program has received over 47,000 applications, including Russians and forcibly conscripted Ukrainians from temporarily Russian-occupied territory, as well as foreign mercenaries from 33 countries. Every evacuation is a complex special operation, but Ukrainian specialists do everything possible to minimise the risks. So far, every evacuation attempt has been successful.

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