ASTRA publishes image showing basement in Donetsk region where Russians refusing to fight are held

The ASTRA media outlet has published the first picture from a basement in the village of Zavitne Bazhannya, Donetsk region, used as a detention facility for drafted Russian citizens who refuse to fight against Ukraine.

According to the outlet, around 20 Russians are currently in custody there.

“They have not been in touch with anyone since 22 November. After 6 people were talking from there to work there has been no connection since. One of them tried to call yesterday but it cut out,” the wife of one of the draftees said.

Earlier, ASTRA spoke with Mikhail who was earlier released from the basement. Mikhail was drafted on 23 September from the Russian Far East. Mikhail and other mobilised men were sent to Rostov-on-Don to train already on 2 October. However, after arriving in the Rostov region, the draftees were told to board buses and taken to the Donetsk people’s republic frontline. On 12 October, Mikhail returned from the combat zone and wrote a note to refuse to fight. He claims that 13 more people did the same.

On 16 October, the 14 men who gave these notes were taken to an unknown location. It later was revealed that they were kept in a basement in Staromlynivka, Donetsk region, and later moved to the woods near Mariupol. On 1 November, the draftees were relocated to Zavitne Bazhannya.

“We did not wash once. There’s nowhere to wash there. We only had wet wipes and that’s it. We peed in a bucket in the room,” Mikhail said.

According to him, the draftees were fed once a day.

ASTRA identified at least 9 places where mobilised Russians were or are kept.