A Russian paratrooper who spoke out about his experiences in the first months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has applied for political asylum in France. AFP wrote about it on Tuesday. Pavel Filatiev, who flew to Paris via Tunisia on Sunday, will be prosecuted and severely punished in his hometown for writing about his attitude towards the war against a dysfunctional Russian army and soldiers, he says.
“When I found out that Big Animal was demanding 15 years in prison for me for spreading false news, there was nothing I could do and my lawyer in Russia could not help me. I noticed,” said the 34-year-old soldier. In the south he served for two months, one of which is near the cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv, he told AFP Ukraine.
He was withdrawn from the front line due to an eye infection and was discharged this month to a military hospital in Sevastopol, Crimea. After his departure, he published his 140-page text called Zov (call) on his social network Vkontakte (the Russian equivalent of Facebook), summarizing his involvement in the fighting.
According to him, the Russian army works only to the best of its ability and its soldiers are poorly trained and poorly equipped. “It is clear that if in peacetime a corrupt and apathetic army was already devastated, then in war it will be much worse during combat, and the lack of professionalism will be more and more evident,” says Filatyev. Fear of prosecution.
“Why am I telling you so much? I want people in Russia and around the world to know why this war happened and why people are still fighting it,” the soldier told AFP. ‘ said. They feared the consequences if they opposed the war.
