An attempt in Donetsk on the life of a “deserter” who had complained to the media about illegal persecution

A man wanted for “desertion” was shot in Donetsk. According to the Telegram channels ASTRA and Mobilisation DPR Live, the man is in intensive care in serious condition. His father was also injured.

As ASTRA reported in October 2024, Oleksandr Barlet, 30, began “serving” under contract in 2019, before the full-scale invasion and annexation of the occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by Russia. Although his contract expired in 2020, he continued to “serve”. When he was injured in March 2023 and his wife gave birth to their fourth child, the man went on what ASTRA called “unofficial leave”.

Two months later, in May 2023, his parents’ home was raided during a nighttime search. The next morning, he said, the man went to the military enlistment office where he was allegedly told that they had no documents about him or his service. However, the people who had allegedly searched his parents’ house the day before also arrived at the enlistment office and demanded that he go with them, and when he refused, they beat and imprisoned him.

According to Barlet, he was held for a week in a cell in a basement, which was designed for six people, with eight other men. He claimed that during the day he was taken out of the cell to do forced labour. A week later, when he was transferred to a military unit, Barlet, according to him, managed to escape.

After his escape, Barlet, according to him, went into hiding, but representatives of the military police continued to come to his family for him. At the same time, his wife referred to a letter from the Russian Investigative Committee stating that no criminal cases have been opened against her husband and that he is not wanted as a deserter.

Barlet’s lawyer, whom ASTRA also cited, suggested that someone was receiving his salary instead while he was serving without a contract. It is unclear from the text whether the man received any money for his “service” and how it is possible that he fought without “official” status and remuneration.

In addition to ASTRA, the Telegram channel Mobilisation DPR Live also wrote about Barlet’s story in October. The administrators there also posted, among other things, a video shot by his wife, in which two men in civilian clothes say they are looking for a deserter, but ultimately admit that they have no documents confirming the fact of desertion.

According to his wife, the attempt on Barlet’s life made staff members of the commandant’s office in Donetsk. On 30 December, a car with six men drove up to the house of Barlet’s parents in Donetsk. At that time, Barlet and his father were washing their car outside the house. According to his wife, who contacted ASTRA, the unknown men started shooting without warning. Barlet was able to get into the car and drive away, but the unknown men continued to shoot at the car.

According to his wife, Barlet received three bullet wounds: his duodenum, lung and liver were damaged, and doctors had to remove his gallbladder. In the hospital and near the hospital, according to his wife, Barlet was guarded presumably also by men from the commandant’s office.

At the same time, the police in Donetsk opened a case against her husband and his father for allegedly attacking the men from the commandant’s office with a knife and a bat, the woman claimed. She also told ASTRA that she has received numerous threats on Telegram.