Russian army deserter sentenced to seven years in prison

(Reuters) - A Russian soldier has been sentenced to seven years in prison for twice escaping from his army unit, a military court in the Siberian city of Tomsk said on Monday.

According to the court, which identified the man by the initial K., the soldier was called up for service last September during what the Russian government described as a "partial" mobilisation of 300,000 reservists.

It said K. absconded from his unit in mid-December and was caught on March 3. Later that month, he deserted again, only to be found in early April.

Siberia.Realities, a local project of U.S. government-funded news outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, identified the soldier as Ivan Klester.

Last month a military court in Russia’s Far East sentenced a soldier to nine years for deserting three times. The man pleaded guilty, saying that he had to care for his sick wife, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported.

President Vladimir Putin signed a law last September to toughen punishments for a host of crimes such as desertion, damage to military property and insubordination if they are committed during military mobilisation or combat situations.

There is little data on how many have been convicted under the codes, although cases of soldiers refusing to fight have also surfaced.

Russia’s combat preparedness is under heightened scrutiny as Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive takes shape, and following a mutiny late last month by the Wagner mercenary group that had fought some of Russia's bloodiest battles against Ukrainian forces.

TASS news agency quoted a Russian lawmaker, Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov, as saying on Monday that "no new wave of mobilisation will be required", despite Wagner's departure from the battlefield.

(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)