The parents of 49 surviving Russian soldiers aboard the country's flagship Moskva when it sunk in April are demanding their sons not be sent back to fight in Ukraine, Novaya Gazeta reported.
In a Tuesday letter to the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia and the Russian military prosecutor of Crimea, the group insists their sons be exempt from scheduled reassignment to the Russian frigate Ladny as soon as June 30.
"Our children, who are conscripts, have already been unlawfully involved in the special military operation on the Moskva cruiser and received psychological traumas as a result of the accident," the parents wrote.
"We consider it unacceptable to re-enlist those who have experienced a psychologically traumatic situation to participate in combat operations," they added.
The parents further claimed that the ship is in poor condition after being in operation for over three decades, according to the outlet.
The emotionally charged letter comes after the Moskva was reportedly hit by Ukrainian Neptune missiles two months ago, with the Kremlin claiming the vessel was damaged by an onboard fire, The Times of Israel reported at the time.
Russia claimed on April 22 that 27 crew members went "missing" due to the incident, with one officially pronounced dead. Meanwhile, Ukraine has alleged far more deaths – up to 250 sailors.
"As a result of a fire on April 13, the Moskva missile cruiser was seriously damaged due to the detonation of ammunition," the Russian defense ministry stated.
"One serviceman was killed, another 27 crew members went missing," with "the remaining 396 members" evacuated, it added.
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