A serviceman was convicted in Nalchik for evading military service.

A military court in Nalchik sentenced Alexander Mevshuk to seven years in prison, finding him guilty of three counts of evading military service during mobilization.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on September 4, 2022, Parts 2.1, 3.1, and 5 of Article 337, concerning unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service during mobilization, were introduced into the Russian Criminal Code. The amendments provide for imprisonment for up to 10 years. Tighter legislation after the announcement of mobilization led to harsher sentences for absence from a military unit and desertion.

23:48 04.01.2023

Mobilization has deprived contract soldiers from southern Russia of the opportunity to resign.

Garrison courts in southern Russia are refusing to grant claims from service members seeking dismissal due to the expiration of their contracts, citing the mobilization decree.

A serviceman named Mevshuk was found guilty under Part 2.1 1 and Part 5 2 of Article 337 of the Russian Criminal Code, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court reported on its VKontakte page.

According to the court, Mevshuk, without good reason, "on July 16, 2024 and February 15, 2025, that is, in both cases during the mobilization period," in the first case, voluntarily left his military unit in the Volgograd Region, and in the second case, a hospital in Stavropol Krai.

In order to preserve his life and health, he voluntarily left the area where evacuation work was being carried out by servicemen of a military unit in the Donetsk People's Republic without good reason.

"Furthermore, the court established that Mevshuk, in order to temporarily evade military service in order to preserve his life and health, voluntarily left the area where evacuation work was being carried out by servicemen of a military unit in the Donetsk People's Republic on July 1, 2025, during mobilization and martial law," the publication states.

According to the court, from July 16 to November 1, 2024, as well as from February 15 to June 15, and from July 1 to July 5, 2025, Mevshuk "spended his time at his own discretion."

The defendant "admitted guilt in committing the crimes and expressed regret for his actions." "At the same time, when sentencing, the court took into account the factual circumstances of the case related to Mevshuk's periods of evasion from military service, as well as the nature and degree of public danger posed by the defendant's actions, who, within a short period of time, committed two serious crimes and one medium-gravity crime against military service," the statement noted.

Mevshuk was sentenced to seven years in a general regime penal colony for the combined offenses. The court's press service did not provide the defendant's name. According to the case file on the court's website, updated on November 15, the defendant is Alexander Mevshuk. The case was submitted to the court on November 5, and the verdict was handed down at the first hearing.

As a reminder, on September 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilization. On October 28 of that year, the Minister of Defense reported to the president on its completion, but no corresponding decree followed. Lawyers have concluded that a presidential decree is not needed to end partial mobilization, Putin's press secretary explained.

Moreover, on December 12, 2023, the Maykop military court, in its verdict against a mobilized soldier who left his unit in June 2023, emphasized that "a partial mobilization was declared in the Russian Federation, which was not completed at the time the crime was committed."