Hnezdilov said he was ready to return to army if clear terms of service would be established: they promised to do it 8 months ago and did not do it
A soldier of the 56th Brigade, Serhii Hnezdilov, said in the courtroom that he was ready to return to military service if the Ministry of Defense would introduce a legislative initiative to establish clear terms of military service.
This was reported by hromadske from the courtroom, Censor.NET reports.
"They promised to do this 8 months ago and did not do it. Clear terms of service. I am in favor of finally having compliance in our country not only for the military who went AWOL, but also for the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who promised this (clear terms of service - ed.) to the military. Also for the Minister of Defense, who also promised it. I want them to finally hear us," the military said.
In addition, Hnezdilov said that he did not want his return to the army to be perceived as a sign of "weakness."
"I am still waiting for a corresponding initiative from our leaders. If there is no such initiative, apart from fighting for my freedom, I will use other methods of influence. Such as a hunger strike and so on. If our country has reached the point where prisons are filled with military personnel and they are not heard, then we need to fight even at the cost of our own lives," the soldier said.
What preceded it?
As a reminder, on September 21, 2024, the soldier wrote on Facebook that he had gone AWOL from his unit to draw attention to the need to set terms of service for mobilized soldiers.
"The absence of clear terms of service contributes to 'black demobilization': marriages to pensioners with disabilities were once a meme, but now they are very common, divorcing wives to get sole custody of their children, divorcing their own parents to get care for their mother or father, going AWOL. There is a lot to learn from history, but unfortunately, we do not learn the lessons of history.
The government is still incapable of a serious dialog with society and intolerant of the failure to fulfill civic duty by a wide range of citizens. Instead of the doctrine that "fighting is the duty of every citizen," the government proposes to appoint those who were caught on the streets as defenders for an indefinite period of time," he explained.
The 56th Separate Motorised Infantry Brigade ordered an internal investigation.
Subsequently, Serhii Hnezdilov, a soldier of the 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, who publicly reported on AWOL, was served with a suspicion of desertion.
Hnezdilov took part in battles in the Donetsk region, including Pisky and Bakhmut. He is also the founder of the cultural festival VydelkaFest in his hometown of Vilkovo in the Odesa region and hosts the Hromadske podcast "++ Podcast", where he talks to the military and raises the issue of militarisation of society.
Censor.NET previously published an interview with Hnezdilov.
