President Putin Has Banned But 600 Russian Military Conscripts Are Still Sent To Ukraine, 12 Officers Responsible Are Sentenced To Dismissal

Illustration of Russian troops in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru)

JAKARTA - Regional Prosecutor of the Western Military District Artur Yegiyev said about 600 conscripts sent to Ukraine were immediately repatriated, while the officers in charge faced the consequences.

"According to the supervision of the Western Military District, about 600 conscripted soldiers were drawn into special military operations, all of them returning as soon as possible," Yagiyev told Russia's upper house of parliament, quoted by Reuters on June 8.

Meanwhile, the officer who allowed this to happen had faced disciplinary proceedings including possible dismissal, he said, without providing further details.

"About 12 [army] officers" have been charged in connection with conscripted deployments," reports The Moscow Times from Interfax.

Yegiev said disciplinary action had been taken against those found guilty of the offence. He did not elaborate on the disciplinary action taken, only saying that several officers were dismissed from service.

The issue of conscription involvement in war is very sensitive in Russia. Although Russia has stopped publishing statistics on how many of its soldiers died in Ukraine, estimates run into the thousands.

Several associations representing mothers of Russian soldiers have raised concerns about conscripts designed for war despite the lack of adequate training.

It is known that all parties to the war in Ukraine Ukraine has a conscription system for its inhabitants, in which youths are required by law to perform military service.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin banned the use of conscription in carrying out any duties on Ukrainian territory, citing TASS. He said only professional soldiers were deployed in special military operations in Ukraine.

However, in early March, it was revealed a number of cases of mandatory military presence in military units participating in special military operations. President Putin immediately issued an order to take all cases to the Office of the Chief Military Prosecutor, to punish those responsible.