Russian court jails two soldiers for leaving military units

A military court in southern Russia has sentenced two soldiers to a year in prison each after they went missing from their units during the country's ongoing mobilisation.

Navruzbeg Gadzhimuradov and Kamil Abrekov were found guilty of leaving their posts without permission for more than 10 days, the press service for the Nalchik Garrison Military Court announced.

Both men were sentenced to serve one year in a general regime penal colony.

According to prosecutors, Gadzhimuradov left his unit without authorization on 27 April 2026 and travelled home. He voluntarily handed himself in to a military investigation department in Mozdok, North Ossetia-Alania, on 19 May.

Abrekov left a temporary deployment site without valid reasons on 20 May 2026 and was detained by police in the village of Kizlyar on 11 June.

Court records show both cases were submitted on 16 July and concluded on the same day in closed-door hearings presided over by Judge Malbakhov. The court noted that both soldiers acknowledged the unlawful nature of their actions and expressed regret.

Russia introduced harsher penalties for desertion and unauthorized absence in September 2022, shortly after President Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilisation" for the conflict in Ukraine.

Amendments to Article 337 of Russia's criminal code established prison sentences of up to 10 years for going AWOL during periods of mobilisation or active combat.

Although Russian officials stated that mobilisation ended in October 2022, no presidential decree was issued to officially terminate it. Russian courts have repeatedly ruled that mobilisation remains in force legally, enabling prosecutors to apply the stricter penalties.

The rulings follow a similar case at the Nalchik court, which recently sentenced soldier Khizir Bukhurov to one year in a penal colony for failing to report for duty on time.