Inside the Brutal Life of Russian Convicts Fighting in Ukraine

Testimonies from a rare survivor and the mother of a deceased convict reveal the brutal conditions faced by Russian prisoners recruited to fight in Ukraine. These prisoners, promised reduced jail terms, describe being used as cannon fodder and enduring squalid and exhausting conditions in the trenches. The survivor recounts being concussed multiple times, shot twice, and witnessing the execution of fellow soldiers. The casualty rates are staggering, with only a fraction of the initial recruits still alive. The mother mourns the loss of her son, who was sent to the front lines and died in an assault on the same day Russia celebrated the defeat of the Nazis.