In October, Vladimir Putin signed a law simplifying the procedure for recruiting convicts and defendants in criminal cases into the armed forces. A military service contract can now be concluded at the investigation stage, and authorities have plans to bring up to 40% of Russian prisoners under arms. Within the Armed Forces, recruited inmates are assigned to so-called “Storm” units, which were created, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense website, “to break through the most complex and echeloned areas of the AFU defense.” In reality, Storm servicemen are used as expendable material in areas where fighting is the toughest and the most desperate. Among other undesirable tasks, they bear the brunt of the infamous “meat-grinder assaults.” More here…
