On Friday, the 31st of May, 152 Crimean draftees were sent to undergo a military service in Moscow region. From the beginning of the spring draft, which started on the 1st of April, about 500 Crimeans were sent to undergo a military service to the Russian mainland, and about a thousand people were drafted according to Kryminform Russian news agency.
“At the moment, we have successfully completed a third of the established spring draft assignment. Today we send 152 people to the Western Military District – they will undergo a military service in Moscow region”, – Crimean military commissar Oleh Iermilov said according to Kryminform reports.
It is reported that the draftees will be delivered to places of further service in the Military Space Forces (VKS) and the Airborne Forces (VDV) units by the military airplanes.
The spring draft campaign in Crimea in 2019 is already the ninth in a row. Within the framework of eight campaigns, at least 14 800 Crimeans were sent to undergo a military service in the Russian army. This was reported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in a Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine on the 16th ofNovember 2018 – 15th of February 2019.
The OHCHR also noted that Russia, as an occupying power, must abide international humanitarian law, which explicitly prohibits forcing the inhabitants of Crimea to undergo a service in its armed or auxiliary forces. Any pressure or promotion of voluntary engagement in the armed or auxiliary units must be prohibited.
Representatives of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center repeatedly noted that the legal status of Crimeans is regulated by the Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, namely article 51, which states that the occupying power cannot force the Crimeans to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. Any pressure or propaganda in favor of voluntary admission to the armed or auxiliary units must be prohibited. Moreover, the UN Resolution on Crimea calls upon Russia to abandon “the malicious practice of forcing the residents of Crimea to undergo a military service in the armed or auxiliary forces of the Russian Federation, including through pressure or propaganda”.