Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Head of the Department of Legal and Foreign Affairs of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Eskender Bariiev in an interview with Radio NV said that in the occupied Crimea Crimean Tatars are being actively drafted into the Russian army.
“Yes, indeed, this is the case. And we are tracking it. And we also work with our citizens so that they hide. Either they left Crimea, or if the russian authorities come to them and try to conscript them, they publicly refuse accordingly. Because we immediately say: it's better if you serve six months or a year in prison, but you will not be accomplices in this crime. And, of course, the third option, if you have already fallen into the ranks of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, then you need to look for a way, as it seems, to defect to the side of Ukraine”,- he said.
On the peninsula, they already go to some areas, including the residence of the Crimean Tatars, searching for the males of conscription age. There is also a by-law prohibiting the exit of Crimean residents with a Crimean residence permit through the Kerch Bridge, and today there is no other way to leave the peninsula.
But even if people refuse and go to prison, they can still be forcibly taken to the front.