Tens of thousands of male convicts have been freed to fight in Ukraine. It is not clear if a small contingent of female volunteers released from a prison portends wider use of female soldiers.

Russia released a group of women from a prison in late May to join the fighting in Ukraine, according to two former inmates who maintain contact with those still there, potentially signaling a new phase in the Kremlin’s use of criminals in its war effort.

  • BakedGoods
    1·
    8 months ago

    Populations so used to living under authoritarian rule are like domestic abuse victims. It can be very hard to convince them there’s another way, they will often defend their abuser, even when their lives are at risk.