How Russia recruits troops in occupied Ukrainian territories
[ad_1] This spring marks the highest rate of military conscription that Russia has seen in 14 years. In late March, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree ordering 160,000 men aged 18 to 30 to be called up. Their year of service began on April 10.Russia's Defense Ministry claims that the latest round of conscription, which takes place biannually in spring and autumn, has nothing to do with the war against Ukraine. But men in the Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are also being drafted.According to Ukraine's Eastern Human Rights Group (EHRG), at least 300 people from the occupied territories were conscripted into the Russian army in fall 2024, including around 200 from the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and 100 from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.Few options in occupied territories"If I'm forcibly mobilized, I'll shoot myself," says […]