SEVASTOPOL, March 20. /ITAR-TASS/. More than 3,500 Ukrainian servicemen in the Crimean city of Sevastopol passed registration at a temporary military registration station to continue military service in Russian army, deputy head of the Sevastopol people’s defence committee Sergey Tutuev told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
The temporary military registration station was set up in the city of Sevastopol for Ukrainian servicemen on the orders by head of the city coordination council Aleksey Chaly. Former servicemen of Ukrainian army can register at the station, receive compensations and choose their future - go to Ukraine or file an application to join Russian army.
Up to 100 Ukrainian servicemen passed registration daily, their total number has already reached 4,500, Tutuev said. “More than 80% register for further military service in Russian army,” he stated.
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When registered all Ukrainian officers and contract servicemen in the city of Sevastopol received monetary compensations of 2,000 hryvnas ($199.5 dollars) that make average salary in Ukrainian army. If they decide to leave the peninsula an additional 4,000 hryvnas ($399 dollars) are paid to them and travelling expenses are compensated.
“We do not set tight deadlines for departure of servicemen to continue military service in Ukrainian army, but ten days are given for this in words, and proprietary rights are also not violated, as everything that they own will be left for them,” Tutuev added.
Servicemen who chose military service in Russian army were put on temporary military register and waited for a Russian military enlistment station to open in the city.
If conscript soldiers serve a larger part of military service term, they are permitted to go home, the others will have an opportunity to serve their military term to the very end in the army of a country that they will choose, Tutuev noted.
Servicemen have been standing in queue to pass military registration already for several days, they apply for military registration three days in advance. Ukrainian naval officer Aleksey, who agreed to talk to Itar-Tass unnamed, said that most of his fellow servicemen were prepared to serve in Russian army in the future, but they doubted that they would be needed there. “The only doubt that we will be recruited into Russian army, but we are completely unaware of this,” the Ukrainian naval officer said.