February 17, 2026
How do you force Russian conscripts into combat? Threaten them with deployment if they won’t steal for you, then threaten them with prison after they’ve been charged.
On January 30, 2026, a Russian military court issued the first sentence in a case involving theft from a classified Defense Ministry facility in the Leningrad region. Seven service members — four of them conscripts — were charged with hauling 4.6 tons of cable off the base, burning off the insulation to extract the copper, and selling it to a scrap dealer. Investigators estimated the losses at 11 million rubles (about $144,000). The conscripts and their families say officers coerced them into committing the crime by threatening to send them to fight in Ukraine. After charges were filed, investigators offered them another choice, according to sources: go to war or go to prison. The independent outlet Bumaga reported the story. Meduza summarizes the case.
TL;DR
- Seven Russian servicemen were charged with stealing 4.6 tons of copper cable from a military facility.
- Conscripts claim officers threatened them with deployment to Ukraine if they refused to steal.
- After being charged, the conscripts were allegedly offered a choice by investigators: go to war or go to prison.
- The estimated losses from the theft were 11 million rubles (about $144,000).
- One conscript, Vitaly Rusakov, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution.
- The case is being heard behind closed doors, with the Defense Ministry potentially concealing classified information.
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