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The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative was set up in response to the all-out war launched by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022.

Here we quote several instructive documents concerning the situation in one, we hope not typical, military unit.

21.05.2000   

Here we quote several instructive documents concerning the situation in one, we hope not typical, military unit.

To the Prosecutor of Simferopol garrison
From the mother of a private from military unit A . 0492


Application


My son, G.V., born in 1979, a private in military unit A-0492, billeted in the village of Perevalnoye, on 22 February 1999 was brutally beaten by older servicemen in the presence of lieutenant G.Vasilenko. After the beating my son, bleeding and with numerous injuries, went to his direct commander senior lieutenant Chubenko, who did not pay any attention. Having found no protection from his commander, my son, desperate and beaten, had to find protection of his parents. Next day he left his unit and, hitchhiking, on 4 March 1999 managed to come to Kharkov and came to his grandmother. On 5 March he, together with his parents, came to the recruiting committee, where he was advised to turn to the city military prosecutor. s office. Detective Pichugin wrote down the evidence and organized the medical forensic expertise. Before recruiting my son was absolutely healthy, now he complains of having grave headaches and giddiness, his moral and psychic state is bad. From a happy, healthy, communicable lad my son became pitiful and primed man.

I demand:

To send my son to the complete medical investigation.

If my son is found able-bodied, then I insist that he must be directed to another military unit.

To investigate this case, to protect other victims, and to punish the guilty.


Explanatory note of the mother of private T., who left his military unit A-0492 on 17 May 1999



My son began his service in 48 thtank brigade. From his letters I understood that he was very displeased with his service. After taking the oath, it became much worse. The older soldiers drew him to the village to work on vegetable gardens of local citizens. Officers confiscated cigarettes from soldiers, leaving them only one pack for a month.

Then my son got to the hospital with enteric disease. The diagnosis was salmonella infection. Doctors explained that it was the result of inadequate nourishment. My son permanently complained that in soldiers. canteen his food was taken by older soldiers, and he stayed hungry all the time. Then he wrote a letter that he was transferred to the training ground, where there were no older soldiers and where he had enough food. When he was returned to the barracks again, he deserted and soon was captured. Then he deserted again and was again captured. For the third time he deserted and did not return. He did not come home too. His father went to the unit and talked with soldiers and officers. They said that our son was close-mouthed. At home he had not been such. The commander said that our son was somewhere in the Crimea, but nobody knew where exactly.

A note from general-major Yu.Klinkin, the head of Kharkov region military commissariat


I inform that on 5 March 1999 private G.V. turned to me. The private, born in 1979, was recruited from Kharkov, served in military unit A-0492, from which he deserted on 23 February 1999.

Private G.V. informed me that he did not want and does not want to dodge the military service. What he did was the result of the dedovshchina.

Private G.V. was directed to the military prosecutor of Simferopol garrison for the elucidation of the reasons of his desertion.

On 27 April private G.V. again appeared in Kharkov region military commissariat with the request to aid him. Being questioned, he complained at the state of his health and more that once strayed from the topic. He was directed to the military commandant. s office; the Kharkov Union of soldiers. mothers was informed. The commandant of Kharkov garrison directed private G.V. to the hospital.

The complaint of the Kharkov region Union of soldiers. mothers


To the military prosecutor of Simferopol garrison

Your assistant, major G.Atamaniuk, informed us of the refusal in starting a criminal case against junior sergeants A.Gerasim and I.Maksimov, serving in military unit A-0279. He advised us to lodge a complaint during seven days. Major Atamaniuk. s letter was sent on 20 May and received by us on 31 May.

We do not understand some details of this letter. First, we know that junior sergeants Gerasim and Maksimov serve in military unit A-0492, not in A-0279, as major Antoniuk asserts. Secondly, we demanded to start a criminal case against not only junior sergeants Gerasim and Maksimov, but also against lieutenants Vasilenko and Chubenko, who figured in the complaints of the three privates. These officers are blamed of beating, tortures and degrading treatment of single soldiers and entire companies. We also know that the dedovshchina in military unit A-0492 forced to desert two more privates: B.A. and T.R. Thirdly, we did not receive a copy of the criminal investigator. s resolution.

We request to carefully check all the materials on deserters, to cancel the resolution of major Atamaniuk and to explain why he refers to military unit A-0279, and not to A-0492.


The answer to the above-quoted letter


Chairperson of Kharkov region Union of soldiers. mothers

According to Article 18 of the law of Ukraine . On citizens. complaints. , I inform you that your complaint concerning the dedovshchina in the cases of privates G.V., K.N. and others was received by the military prosecutor. s office of Simferopol garrison. Prosecutor. s checking of your complaint was carried out, which established the following.

The case of private K.N., who several times deserted from military unit A-0279, was investigated by the military prosecutor. s office of Simferopol garrison. His criminal case was related to Article 240-A of the Ukrainian Penal Code; the investigation was terminated on 9 March 1999 according to Article 7 of the Criminal-Procedural Code because, according to the conclusion of the forensic psychiatric expertise, private K.N. was considered not able-bodied for the military service in peaceful time because of his psychiatric state. In the course of investigation the version of the dedovshchina as a cause of the desertion was studied, but not confirmed.

Private G.Z., who deserted from military unit A-0279, was investigated in the psychiatric department in the Crimean psychiatric hospital No. 1 and considered not able-bodied to the military service because of his psychiatric state and now has been demobilized.

As to private T.G., who also deserted several times, the criminal case is started against him by Article 240-A of the Penal Code of Ukraine, and he is now in search. Before starting this criminal case some workers of the military prosecutor. s office, in particular, major of justice G.Bukhtiyarov, interrogated private T.G. about the reasons of his desertion, and no facts of the dedovshchina were found out.

As to the desertion of private G.V., we carried out a careful prosecutor. s check, in the course of which we checked the version on the dedovshchina relations on the side of junior sergeants Gerasim and Maksimov. However, it appeared impossible to prove them guilty, since private G.V., after stationary treatment of neuro-circular distonia in military unit A-4614, again deserted. It was established that either in military unit A-1650 or in the hospital no dedovshchina relations was applied to G.V. Up to now private G.V. is absent and does not come to the place of his service. Besides, after examination in the psychiatric department of Kharkov military hospital, private G.V. was discharged from the hospital and directed to military unit A-1650, to where he did not come. This testifies that G.V. does not want to serve in the armed forces of Ukraine, and his testimony on the alleged beating him by Maksimov and Gerasim can be regarded as an attempt to justify his desertion.

After your complaint of 24 March we carried out a detailed prosecutor. s check of sergeants Maksimov and Gerasim and officers Vasilenko and Chubenko. The check did not show them

to practice the dedovshchina.

As to the code of the military unit, I inform you that military unit A-0492 is a subunit of A-0279.

Deputy military prosecutor of Simferopol garrison captain of justice A.Pronin


PL commentary.
The above-quoted documents convey a lot of interesting and dangerous information. According to the letter of captain Pronin, a bunch of psychiatric cases was found in the military unit, which, but the way, is a tank battalion. A madman in a tank can cause a lot of trouble, so it is very well that psychiatric cases have deserted. One can think that this is not a tank battalion, but a psychiatric hospital. The answer that no dedovshchina has been found in the unit contradicts to the results of the forensic expertise of private G.V. The expertise confirmed that the private was badly beaten and burned with lighted cigarettes. Did he torture himself? Private G.V. came to the office of our Union of soldiers. mothers. Every time when we touched the topic of his return to his native unit, he began to tremble uncontrollably. We asked to examine him in a psychiatric clinic. He was shortly examined in military unit A-3306, where the doctors found only . situational reactions of an accentuated person. . The further investigation was made impossible by . the absence of a characteristic from the place of service. . By the way, the military commissariat of Kharkov had given a brilliant characteristic of the recruit G.V. . the boy wanted to serve and dreamed of a military career.

As always, we come across with the unwillingness of the military to call a spade a spade. If any recruitment of a psychically abnormal to the army started a criminal case, if any case of the dedovshchina resulted in the punishment of the guilty, then the number of the killed and injured in our army would much decrease, and there would be much more security, much more order and much less wasted money.

I.Sukhorukova, Kharkov

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