Valentina Melnikova, the head of Russia’s famous Soldiers’ Mothers Committee, began receiving a barrage of telephone calls Thursday morning from Russian army leaders–including the deputy defense minister–after accusing the entire high command of invading Ukraine.
The callers reportedly wanted to meet with Melnikova.
Melnikova included Russian President Vladimir Putin in her accusation. The Russian high command had, Melnikova asserted, sent Russian soldiers to “the bloody battlefields” without declaring war.
The Russian high command had also not signed legal papers with servicemen regarding their participation in the war. And the Russian high command had not notified Russian mothers where there drafted sons were killed, Melnikova charged.
Melnikova cited “our expert analysis” and said that there were “over 10,000 Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine today.” Melnikova noted that few organizations have better information than hers.
Melnikova said that the Russians fighting in Ukraine were fighting in Novoazovsk, alongside pro-Russian separatists in that border city.
Melnikova is an active member of the Russian Defense Ministry’s public council. Soldiers’ Mothers have first hand information about military affairs, due to their relationships with Russian soldiers.
Soldiers’ Mothers has been receiving information over the past weeks about the deaths of their sons, reportedly. Their dead sons had served in the southern Rostov region of Russia.
Melnikova, who has been active in the organization for decades, said that she was “personally humiliated as a citizen of the Russian Federation by our commander-in-chief’s pure, direct crime.”
Melnikova said that Putin was “violating not only international laws, not only the Geneva Convention, [but also] breaking Russian Federation law about defense. And as for [commander-in-chief of the Russian airborne troops] Vladimir Shamanov, we should be too disgusted to even mention his name–he forces his servicemen to fight in a foreign state–Ukraine–illegally, while mothers receive coffins with their sons, anonymously.”
By Day Blakely Donaldson