Police in the western Russian city of Lipetsk have shot dead Dmitry Perov, a soldier they were trying to arrest after he deserted with a firearm from fighting in Ukraine, the regional government said on January 18. Russian media reported the same day that eight soldiers from the far western region of Kaliningrad were charged with desertion from the war in Ukraine and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The day before, a Siberian court handed a suspended sentence to a soldier for leaving his unit during mobilization to Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
