Saint Petersburg: man who uses wheelchair from childhood receives draft notice

In Russia’s Saint Petersburg, a military commissariat has sent a draft notice to a 26-year-old resident Ilya Pekarev who uses a wheelchair, the man himself tells the Paper outlet.

During his childhood years, the man ended up with lower flaccid paraparesis due to a doctor’s mistake.

According to Pekarev, he found the draft notice in his mail on 18 October, however, the document stated that he had to visit the military commissariat on 8 October. “At first, I was shocked. We discussed it with friends, had a laugh,” Ilya says.

Ilya’s military ticket states that he is not fit for military service, the man clarifies.

Last week, a Saint Petersburg resident Alexander Oleynikov was mobilised in accordance with a draft notice, in which a wrong patronymic had been written. The man’s parents complained to the prosecutor’s office, to the Russian Ministry of Defence, to the Saint Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov, and to the Presidential Administration, however, no one is dealing with the issue, according to Alexander’s mother.