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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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08Apr14
Crimean servicemen's return from Ukraine to be completed by end of April
In line with a decree on demobilization of Crimean servicemen who served in Ukraine, their dismissal from service should take place by the end of April, the chairman of the Crimean State Council's relevant working group, Svetlana Savchenko, said Tuesday.
According to Savchenko, who is a member of the State Council (Crimean parliament) presidium, by now, 400 people, including conscript soldiers, contract servicemen and cadets, have already returned from Ukraine.
"Those who return decide for themselves how to act. For example, continue their contract or not," she said. "Guys who were demobilized in spring had already served in the armed forces, and those who were to be demobilized in fall - they, as far as I understand, should have marks that they have served for six months."
"There is no talk of their further service, but if someone would like to serve under a contract with the Russian army, he will be given such an opportunity," Savchenko said.
Overall, she said, over 900 Crimeans served and studied in military educational establishments in Ukraine.
The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russians, signed reunification deals with Russia on March 18 after a referendum two days earlier in which an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.
Crimea's accession to Russia came after a coup in Ukraine in February 2014 that occurred after months of anti-government protests, which often turned violent.
Work to integrate the Crimean Peninsula into Russia's economic, financial, credit, legal, state power, military conscription and infrastructure systems is actively underway now that Crimea has become part of the Russian Federation.
In the Soviet Union, Crimea used to be part of Russia until 1954, when it was gifted to Ukraine by Soviet Communist Party leader Nikita Khrushchev.
[Source: Itar Tass, Simferopol, 08Apr14]
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