NewsRussian Deserters Detained in Armenia: A Test of Sovereignty

Russian Deserters Detained in Armenia: A Test of Sovereignty

Russian military personnel stationed in Armenia have detained another deserter, highlighting what the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) views as Moscow's challenge to Armenia's sovereignty amid worsening relations between the two countries.

Russian military detained another citizen in Armenia. Illustrative photo.
Russian military detained another citizen in Armenia. Illustrative photo.
Images source: © East News | AA/ABACA

The Armenian branch of the Helsinki Civil Assembly (HCA), an international human rights organization, reported on April 9th that a Russian citizen was detained by the Russian military gendarmerie in Gyumri, where the 102nd military base of the Russian Armed Forces is located.

Anatoliy Shchetin, who was in Armenia, is accused of deserting before being deployed to the front lines in Ukraine. The detained deserter was reportedly going to be secretly and forcibly taken back to Russia.

Illegal activities of the Russian gendarmerie

Ani Khachatryan, a lawyer for the Helsinki Assembly, told Radio Free Europe in an interview that the organization has filed a complaint with the General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia regarding the crime committed by the Russians. She pointed out that Russian law enforcement has no authority to detain individuals in Armenia—Armenian services should handle such cases.

Previously, in December 2023, Russian gendarmes from the 102nd military base arrested 20-year-old Dmitry Sietrakov for desertion. Without notifying the Armenian authorities, Sietrakov was secretly taken out of the country—the Russians intended to put him on trial, where he faced up to 10 years in prison.

In February of this year, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that an investigation into the incident was underway, asserting that Armenia "cannot tolerate illegal activities on its territory."

The ISW, an American think tank, believes that Moscow is striving to strengthen its position through these actions and create a narrative of Armenia's limited sovereignty. Illegal detentions occur against the backdrop of the ongoing decline in Armenian-Russian relations.

Source: ISW, WP News

Related content

© essanews.com
·

Downloading, reproduction, storage, or any other use of content available on this website—regardless of its nature and form of expression (in particular, but not limited to verbal, verbal-musical, musical, audiovisual, audio, textual, graphic, and the data and information contained therein, databases and the data contained therein) and its form (e.g., literary, journalistic, scientific, cartographic, computer programs, visual arts, photographic)—requires prior and explicit consent from Wirtualna Polska Media Spółka Akcyjna, headquartered in Warsaw, the owner of this website, regardless of the method of exploration and the technique used (manual or automated, including the use of machine learning or artificial intelligence programs). The above restriction does not apply solely to facilitate their search by internet search engines and uses within contractual relations or permitted use as specified by applicable law.Detailed information regarding this notice can be found  here.