Sergei Tarasov and Maxim Drozdov, two evangelists from Russia, have refused to fight in Ukraine. Several other Russians refuse military service because of religious reasons. This is reported by CNE News.
The two evangelists attend an Evangelical church in Budyonnovsk, which is located in the south of Russia, east of Ukraine. When Putin declared a partial mobilization decree on September 24, they were ordered to report for duty. They stayed in their local military unit for almost a month, but told their commander that they refused to participate in the conflict in Ukraine due to religious reasons.
Their appeal was not accepted and were interrogated by other military officials. Tarasov and Drozdov are defended by their attorney Andrey Sabinin. He has stated that Article 59 in the Russian constitution can be used in their defence. This article states: “if a citizen’s religion is against military service, he has the right to replace it with alternative civilian service.”
CNE News reports that military refusals are made difficult for Russian Christians. Another Evangelical Christian, Pavel Mushumansky, did alternative service in a psychiatric boarding school facility. After the partial mobilization decree, he was ordered for military duty anyway, despite another request for alternative service. The court has suspended his mobilization, but his military unit has not released him yet, reports Triklopodia.
