Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Wednesday unveiled a law that increases punishment for soldiers who disobey orders or desert in the context of the conflict with Russia, a law criticized by human rights activists, AFP and Agerpres reported.
According to the text published on the website of the Ukrainian Parliament and adopted in December, the incriminated actions relate to refusal to carry out orders, threats to commanders, desertion and flight from the battlefield, as well as alcohol consumption.
In addition, the law forbids courts to reduce the punishment of guilty soldiers.
Thus, Ukrainian soldiers face up to 12 years in prison for desertion, up to 10 years for disobeying orders or refusing to fight, and up to 7 years for threatening a superior.
During the debates in the parliament, the text was criticized by human rights activists, and several organizations asked President Zelenskyi not to make it public. A petition against the law, registered on the president’s website, collected almost 35,000 signatures in December.
Increasing penalties for desertion is supported by the military, but has sparked controversy
“Instead of thanking the military, which for almost a year repelled a large-scale invasion of Russia and conducted successful operations to liberate the territory, we receive imprisonment for the slightest disagreement or remark to the commander,” the statement reads.
However, the law is also supported by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny. He claims that commanders on the ground “asked for a systematic solution to this set of problems”, and “quick and effective solutions are necessary in the conditions of war”.
In December, he directly appealed to Zelenskyi with a request to adopt the draft law.
“Open areas of the front are forced to cover other military personnel, which leads to increased losses of personnel, territories and civilians on them. Often lost positions have to be regained through attacks, which have a very high cost,” Zaluzhny emphasized in his address.
Now, Zelenskyi has passed the law due to fears that a new large-scale offensive by Russian troops is inevitable.
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Source: Hot News
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