After some time, the battery commander returned, but “did nothing after his arrival.” When a number of servicemen expressed their dissatisfaction to him, he invited them to submit reports for dismissal, which they did. The soldiers handed over their weapons and equipment and left the special operation zone. When Tkachev, upon returning home, learned that he was wanted, he confessed to the investigative department and declared his readiness to fight, but as part of another unit.
The investigation and the court qualified Tkachev’s actions under Part 5 of Art. 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service, as well as failure to appear on time without good reason for service lasting more than one month, committed by a military serviceman undergoing military service by conscription or under a contract, during mobilization or martial law, in wartime or in conditions of armed conflict or hostilities).
When imposing the punishment, the court stated that “the personnel of the battery in which Tkachev served were actually left to their own devices,” “their abandonment of their place of service was largely due to lack of management, and the duration of the evasion was due to the inaction of the command of the unit and unit.” However, the military man received two and a half years in a general regime colony. The verdict came into force.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”