A bus was transporting former prisoners who had signed contracts from Petrozavodsk to a military unit in Russia’s Leningrad region.
Several convict soldiers fled the scene of a traffic accident while being tarnsferred to a military unit in northern Russia. They were later detained, according to the Russian outlet Astra.
“Three former convict servicemen escaped after a traffic accident in Karelia. They were being taken from prison to a military unit,” Astra said.
Earlier, a minibus and a dump truck collided on the Sortavala highway near Petrozavodsk. The van was carrying former inmates who had signed contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry and were headed from Petrozavodsk to a unit in Leningrad region.
Local media reported that 13 people were injured in the collision. The three inmates who fled the scene were later detained.
The Leningrad Military District’s press service confirmed the crash and blamed the truck driver.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) has said the number of deserters in Russia’s army is rising significantly: over nine months, more than 25,000 service members fled from the Central Military District.
Pro-Ukrainian partisans have earlier claimed that Russia has set up “field courts” within its forces that punish deserters with torture and force them to fight each other to the death.
