The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case against the lieutenant of the medical service Denis Vasiliev, who refused to go to the combat zone. Pavel Chikov, head of the Agora human rights group, said on his Telegram channel that the case was opened under part 2.1 of article 332 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (failure to comply with an order during the period of mobilization), the doctor faces up to three years in prison.
Vasiliev graduated from the Military Medical Academy with a degree in General Practitioner in 2022, after which he went to serve in one of the military units of the Northern Fleet. As Chikov notes, during his studies, Vasiliev treated military personnel who fell ill with coronavirus, including working in the “red zone”, for which he was awarded the medal of the Ministry of Defense “For the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Immediately after the distribution, Vasilyev filed a report for dismissal from the ranks of the Armed Forces and was supposed to quit in September, but did not have time to do this due to the announced mobilization. The authorities in the medical service of the Northern Fleet offered him a transfer to Franz Josef Land, to which the officer agreed.
However, before Vasilyev could leave for the archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, orders were received to go to the war zone. The officer refused to comply with this order.