Prison colony instead of the front: contract soldier in Chechnya sentenced to 2.5 years for refusing to return to the war

The Grozny Garrison Military Court sentenced contract soldier Tamerlan Dudaev to two and a half years in a penal settlement for refusing to return to the war against Ukraine. The Southern District Military Court upheld the sentence.

According to the investigation, the sergeant refused to carry out a commander's order to deploy to the "special military operation" zone. Dudaev had been serving under contract since October 2023; he had been wounded and awarded the Medal "For Bravery" (2nd Class).

Dudaev did not admit guilt. In court, he stated that he could not return to the front due to his health. He claimed that doctors had recommended elective surgery and that an independent military medical assessment in the autumn of 2025 had deemed him temporarily unfit for service.

Furthermore, Dudaev argued that the testimony of certain witnesses matched almost word-for-word and contained "identical, verbatim-copied, multi-page paragraphs of text." On these grounds, he requested that the conviction be overturned.

The appellate court rejected these arguments. The ruling states that military medical commissions had twice—in July 2025 and February 2026—deemed Dudaev fit for service. The court ruled that the conclusion by independent specialists, cited by the defense, had been obtained in violation of established procedure.

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