More than 100 members of Putin's 'private army' were fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine

According to multiple media reports, more than 100 soldiers from the national guard of Russia have been fired for disobeying orders to fight in Ukraine.

The 115 national guardsmen were part of a force that was separate from the military and used as an internal security force against terrorism and to quash dissent.

The dismissal of the 115 guardsmen came to light on May 25 after a Russian military court rejected their lawsuit. The judge ruled last week that the soldiers were rightfully fired.

According to The Guardian, the court said that the soldiers were "refusing to perform an official assignment" and had returned to a duty station.

The Moscow Times reported that Russia held the hearing behind closed doors to prevent military secrets from leaking.

The national guardsmen were not allowed to call up certain witnesses and had their documents rejected by the court, according to the lawyer representing the 115 soldiers.

He said that the men had been given a choice not to fight and that their dismissal was illegal.

The members of the Rosgvardia have been punished before for refusing to join the war in Ukraine. In March, 12 national guardsmen were fired for the same reason.

According to the men, they didn't have passports and were afraid they would have to do something illegal in Ukraine.

The private army created in 2016 to serve the Russian leader has been dubbed the "rosgvardia" because they are similar to the ancient Roman empire's Praetorian Guard.

The Moscow Times reported that their numbers had reached up to 340,000 across 84 units. The force was used to enforce the restrictions.

The national guardsmen's refusal to fight fits a pattern of reports that Russian troops have been low on confidence since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. According to their families and footage from Ukraine, some Russian soldiers did not know why they were fighting in Ukraine.