Five Russian conscripts killed in dugout in Belgorod region

Five Russian military men killed as Ukrainian shell hits their dugout in Belgorod region

Five Russian servicemen lost their lives in a dugout in the Belgorod region. It was later revealed that nearly all of them were conscripts who had only recently arrived at their positions near the border.

Sergey Zherebtsov, the father of the deceased Artyom Zherebtsov, said that the incident occurred in January 2025. The Russian soldiers had arrived at their positions in the Belgorod region, built a dugout, and remained in the shelter for about 10 days. On January 11, a shell fired from Ukraine reportedly struck their fortification, burying the soldiers under the earth, 74.ru news website says.

The soldiers' positions were located near the village of Nekhoteyevka. In addition to Artyom Zherebtsov from Chelyabinsk, two young men from Nalchik, one from the Samara region, and another one from Chelyabinsk were among those who were killed in the dugout.

According to reports, Zherebtsov's funeral took place three weeks later, on February 2. A military commissioner attended the ceremony and confirmed that the conscript had been carrying out combat missions to protect the state border. The death notice sent to the soldier's family also stated that he had died while performing combat duties in the border zone.

Legal Expert Explains Conscripts' Deployment to Combat Zones

Lawyer Timofey Vaskin clarified that there were no legal barriers preventing conscripts from being sent to combat zones. The last legal amendments regarding this issue were introduced in 2015.

According to Vaskin, the regulations state that conscripts can participate in combat operations after undergoing training in military occupational specialties and after serving at least four months from the time of enlistment. Additionally, soldiers can be reassigned to a new location without their consent, as long as it remains within Russian territory.

The lawyer also pointed out that the term the zone of the special military operation was not legally defined. However, since late summer 2024, a counter-terrorism operation (CTO) regime has been in effect in the Belgorod region, and conscripts are permitted to serve in such zones.

Increasing Presence of Conscripts in Border Areas

In December 2024, Russia's Ministry of Defense stated that conscripts drafted during the fall campaign would not be sent either to the new Russian regions or to the zone of the special military operation. This was reiterated by Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, Deputy Chief of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

However, stories about conscripts in combat continue to surface online.

  • In late summer 2024, reports emerged of a Russian conscript engaging in battle against superior Ukrainian forces.
  • Four conscripts were trapped for 39 days by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, surviving with only a few magazines of ammunition and a couple of grenades.
  • Shortly before that, Russian conscripts successfully repelled a large-scale attack by Ukrainian forces without suffering losses, despite facing an entire Ukrainian brigade.

Details

Belgorod Oblast is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Belgorod. As of 2021, the population is 1,540,486. Belgorod Oblast is part of the Central Black Earth economic region and the Central Federal District. It borders with Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Sumy Oblasts of Ukraine in the south and west, Kursk Oblast in the north and northwest, and Voronezh Oblast in the east. The total length of its borders is about 1,150 kilometers (710 mi), of which 540 kilometers (340 mi) are on the border with Ukraine.

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Author`s name Petr Ermilin
Editor Dmitry Sudakov
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