Dozens of Gazprom employees forced to join army as ‘volunteers’
Over 80 Gazprom employees have been forced to enlist in the military as “volunteers” after being taken to their local military commissariat under the pretense of having their documents checked, according to the independent TV network Dozhd.
Workers from multiple Gazprom enterprises in the Nadymsky District of Russia’s Tyumen region were asked to bring their military ID cards to work on September 26 for record verification, the outlet wrote. When the employees arrived, they were reportedly taken to the military commissariat, where they underwent medical inspections. According to Dozhd, after the check-ups, almost all of the employees had their military fitness categories upgraded and were signed up as “volunteers” for the army. The following day, Dozhd learned, they were sent to military training.
Reporters at Dozhd reportedly learned about the forced enlistment from a Gazprom employee named Andrey who managed to refuse the medical inspection and flee the country. Andrey also told Dozhd that the facility where he works is considered “dangerous” — and that by law, it’s not supposed to be understaffed, as a shortage of workers could lead to a technical failure. “And suddenly they just took 80 people away at once,” he said.
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