Committee of Soldiers' Mothers returns two conscripts from training range Ashuluk to main service units

Human rights defenders managed to cancel the practice of using two regular soldiers for loading-unloading shells at the Ashuluk training range. They return to their military units.

These soldiers had themselves addressed human rights activists; they were sent to Ashuluk on November 1 as members of the handling group, which was recruited from the militaries of the unit, stationed in the settlement of Pechenega in the Murmansk Region. According to the soldiers, nobody had asked their consent to go and perform the above works.

The soldiers told rights defenders that the conditions in which they have to take their service at the training range are unfit both for dangerous works and human existence as a whole.

Activists of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of the Astrakhan Region went, jointly with officers from the command of the troops of the Southern Federal District (SFD) and employees of the office of the Ombudsman of the Astrakhan Region, to Military Unit No. 08275 of the Ashuluk training range. The inspection has confirmed soldiers' complaints.

In their report to the Russian Minister of Defence Serdyukov, the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers demanded from the military leadership to conduct shell disposal by means of special technological facilities, as well as to oblige officers to properly train soldiers how to handle the weapons.

The inspectors insisted that both soldiers were hospitalized and then returned to their unit in the Murmansk Region. Also, according to the edition named "CIVITAS", the living conditions at the training range were partly improved.

The rights defenders have transferred the results of their inspection, along with photos and video materials, also to the Russian Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin, and asked him to help in prohibiting the use of regular soldiers for disposing and handling ammunition.

Vladimir Lukin asked the defenders to send him all the materials on facts of using soldiers for this purpose at other testing ranges of the country, the "Kasparov.ru" reports.