Thousands of prisoners were recruited in Russia Finbarr O’Reilly/The New York Times July 23, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday (29) that the convicts recruited from prisons and who died in thousands on the front lines of the offensive in Ukraine had paid off their debt to society.
“They died. We are all human, we can all make mistakes, and they did. They gave their lives for the country and rehabilitated themselves,” Putin said as he received Russian military personnel at the Kremlin who Moscow said distinguished themselves in combat.
“We will do everything we can to help your loved ones,” he said.
Before his meeting with the soldiers, which was broadcast on Russian public television, Putin observed a minute’s silence in memory of former prisoners killed in battle on the Southern Front, whose funerals will take place this Friday.
The president called the Russian soldiers in that sector, who, according to the Defense Ministry, repelled a Ukrainian attack, “an emblematic example of bravery and heroism.”
Tens of thousands of prisoners were recruited from Russian prisons to fight on the front after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, against a promise of release, particularly for the paramilitary group Wagner, but also for the army.
slaughterhouse
However, the Wagner Group was known for honoring its agreements. If the combatants survived the war, their freedom was guaranteed. According to a New York Times report, in addition to copying the strategy, Russia is creating obstacles to fulfilling its part of the agreement.
“It’s like we’re being sent to a slaughterhouse. For them it is as if we are not human because we commit crimes,” Alexander, a soldier recruited from a Russian prison, said in a series of audio messages to the American newspaper.
Alexander said he trained for a month near the occupied city of Luhansk and was then sent with the unit to hold the front line near the old summer houses near the Antonovsky Bridge, an area that Ukrainians have occupied since The retreating Russians attacked the east bank of the river with surprise attacks in November.
The men spent the next month under constant fire from the unseen enemy, who attacked the exposed positions from the other bank; There were snipers, night ambushes and drones lurking around the clock.
The objective of the mission was never clear to them, as they were simply ordered to remain in the position they were in, but had neither heavy weapons nor means to defend themselves against Ukrainian attacks.
“I ran from side to side like an idiot. I didn’t fire once, I didn’t even see the enemy. We were nothing more than bait to expose the artillery positions. What am I doing here? “Green stick, and it’s raining bombs around me?” said Dmitri, a former companion of Alexander, in a message to his wife [e compartilhada com o Times] shortly before he died on Ukrainian soil.
New York woke up underwater this Friday (29). Tropical Storm Ophelia caused chaos in the largest city in the USA and large parts of New York state
Cars are parked on the streets of New York after the heavy rains in the region. Tropical Storm Ophelia caused chaos in the largest city in the USA and large parts of New York state
Cars get stuck on a highway in New York after heavy rainfall in the region. Tropical Storm Ophelia caused chaos in the largest city in the USA and large parts of New York state
Cars remain stuck on a flooded street following heavy rain in New York City in the early hours of Thursday through Friday (29).
New York City Department of Environmental Protection workers attempt to clear clogged drains caused by heavy rains in New York City in the early hours of Thursday through Friday (29).
A school bus travels on FDR Drive in Manhattan near the Williamsburg Bridge; Streets were flooded due to heavy rains that hit New York City in the early hours of Thursday through Friday (29).
A New York Police Department traffic officer watches cars stuck on a highway flooded by the heavy rains that hit the city in the early hours of Thursday through Friday (29).
New York Police Department traffic officers help motorists stuck on a highway flooded by heavy rains that hit the city in the early morning hours Thursday through Friday (29)
A New York Police Department traffic officer walks on a street flooded by the heavy rains that hit the city in the early hours of Thursday through Friday (29).
People seek shelter from the heavy rain that hit New York this Friday (29)