Russia to start sending new Crimean conscripts to its northern territories
During the autumn conscription, the Armed Forces of Russia plan to draft 2800 Crimeans, many of whom will be sent to the Extreme North of Russia to serve for the first time, said Russian Military Commissioner of Crimea Oleg Yermilov, as reported by Krym.Realii.
According to the commissioner, 2,300 people will be sent to serve in neighboring Russia. The Crimean conscripts will be made to serve in the ground, aerospace, engineering, and even the strategic forces, the Russian National Guard, and others.
“In this conscription, the geography of service is expanding. Whereas in years past, the youth served in units that were stationed in the south and west military districts, this year we are sending the boys to serve in units of the North Fleet in Severomorsk,” Yermilov explained.
The Russian government of Crimea has called for a strict response to any attempts to avoid conscription, and has asked to be informed immediately of any such attempts.
The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, on the other hand, has protested against the conscription of Crimean residents into the Russian army. The Procuratorate of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Ukrainian human rights advocates have filed a case on the matter at the International Criminal Court.
A UN monitoring report released on September 13 stated that since 2015, Russia has drafted roughly 12,000 men living in annexed Crimea for service in the Russian Armed Forces.
According to the Kremlin-controlled Crimean government, more than two thousand Crimeans will be drafted in 2018.