The serviceman was convicted in Nalchik for two episodes of failing to report to the unit.
The Nalchik garrison military court sentenced serviceman Nikolai Soloninka to six years in a penal colony for two instances of failing to report for duty.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 24, 2022, parts 2.1, 3.1, and 5 of Article 337 on desertion or leaving the unit during mobilization were introduced into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The amendments provide for imprisonment for up to 10 years. The tightening of legislation after the announcement of mobilization led to harsher sentences for absence from military units or desertion.
Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilization on September 21, 2022. On October 28 of the same year, the Minister of Defense reported to the president about its completion, but no corresponding decree followed. Lawyers concluded that a presidential decree is not needed to complete partial mobilization, explained Putin's press secretary. At the same time, on December 12, 2023, a military court in Maykop emphasized in the sentence of a mobilized individual who left the unit in June 2023 that "partial mobilization has been declared in the Russian Federation, which was not completed at the time of the crime."
According to the court, Soloninka failed to report to the military unit in the Rostov region at the appointed time on June 12 and October 23, 2026, that is, in both cases during mobilization, and resided at his place of residence until October 11, 2025, in the first case, and until July 16 in the second case, reported the press service of the Nalchik garrison military court.
In the first case, Soloninka was hospitalized in the Central District Hospital, and in the second case, he voluntarily reported to the military commandant's office in Mozdok in North Ossetia.
The court found him guilty under part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the article provides for imprisonment from five to ten years) and sentenced him to six years in prison. The serviceman will serve his sentence in a general regime correctional colony.
According to the data from the criminal case registry on the Nalchik court's website, Nikolai Soloninka's case was submitted to the court on August 27 and was considered in September over two sessions. The session in which the sentence was announced was held in closed mode.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that earlier the Nalchik garrison military court sentenced serviceman Timur Keligov to 5.5 years in a colony for failing to report for duty, which lasted almost a year and a half during mobilization.