During a press conference in Simferopol, the military commissar of the Republic of Crimea Oleh Ermilov said that about 2.6 thousand Crimeans be drafted to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the autumn draft campaign. The aforementioned was reported by the Kryminform media agency.
"On the 1st of October, we commenced a draft campaign, we have a goal to draft about 2.6 thousand people. Our draftees are serving all over Russia, including the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions of the Northern Fleet",- said the military commissar.
According to Ermilov, only a small part of those drafted this fall will serve in the Crimea, the rest will be transferred to the different parts of the Southern Military District, located on the mainland, and to the Western Military District.
We remind that the OHCHR also noted that Russia, as an occupying power, must abide by international humanitarian law, which prohibits drafts of Crimean residents to its armed or auxiliary forces. Any pressure or propaganda of voluntary military service is prohibited.
Representatives of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center have repeatedly noted at international gatherings that the legal status of Crimeans is regulated by the IV Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Populations, namely, article 51, which states that an occupying power cannot force Crimeans to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. Any pressure or propaganda in favor of voluntary enlistment into the army is prohibited. In addition, the UN Resolution on Crimea calls on Russia to stop "the practice of forcing Crimeans to serve in the armed or auxiliary forces of the Russian Federation, both through pressure and propaganda".