Olga Reshetylova, the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Servicemen and Their Families, received 3,876 appeals from servicemen in the first 20 days of work. The most frequent requests are the failure to refer to a military medical commission and treatment, and the problem of transferring soldiers between units.
She reported this on Facebook.
The military complains that they cannot receive referrals for treatment after injuries, as well as for urgent and planned surgeries. In particular, this concerns the consequences of severe concussions, panic attacks, and acute post-traumatic stress disorder.
"It is easy to understand that in such a state, the effectiveness of combat missions is low, and the mortality rate among servicemen due to diseases will increase," Reshetylova writes.
She emphasized that there is no individual approach, and not following the recommendations of doctors, even of oneʼs own unit, is often the commanderʼs position. According to her, servicemen suffer from illnesses for months and in the end "very often they just go to the NWCH to get medical help."
The Ombudsman spoke about cases when she personally called commanders to explain the situation, and they eventually signed the necessary report.
"Attention to the health of a serviceman should become a priority for military doctors, unit commanders, and the entire system as a whole," the official emphasized.
Also, according to her, there is a problem with the transfer of soldiers between military units. Reshetylova emphasized that "very often" commanders do not carry out the transfer order or specifically transfer servicemen against their will.
"A vivid example from one appeal. A serviceman lost his brother and father at the front. He has every right to resign from the army. But he doesnʼt want to resign, the only thing he asks for is to be transferred to the rear so that his mother would be calmer. The commander doesnʼt agree, stalls for time. In the end, he approves the plan to transfer him to an infantry unit," the ombudsman said.
She also highlighted the problems of the AWOLs, appeals from families of prisoners of war and missing persons, cases of torture, beatings and ill-treatment by the command. Regarding the latter, 6 appeals were received in 20 days of work.
Reshetylova told about the case when the battalion commander tortured a soldier with a taser in front of the formation. The State Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal case, an investigation is currently underway, and the commander was suspended.
"It turned out that bullying and beatings, very often for no reason at all, are a systematic practice in this battalion," the ombudsman writes.
According to her, since September everyone knew about these cases, servicemen wrote complaints to the Supreme Intelligence Service and to the higher command, the situation was recorded by counterintelligence. But no one reacted. Reshetylova says that this, as a fact, also "deserves a separate check."
The remaining appeals about similar cases of torture are being processed and the circumstances are being clarified.
Reshetylova emphasized that she is working on the situation with missing servicemen from the 155th brigade. According to her, due to "managerial chaos" and poor-quality personnel records, it is very difficult to establish the circumstances of the disappearance of each serviceman.
Of all 3,876 appeals, 302 did not concern the protection of servicemen, they were referred to various departments. Another part of servicemen or their relatives needed consultations or clarifications. In such cases, the Ombudsman provided contacts of lawyers.