A DECADE AGO, FOLLOWING A U.S. DECISION TO arm Syrian rebels to which he was staunchly opposed, Russian President Vladimir Putin was unequivocal on the subject of cannibalism.
"One does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines, in front of the public and cameras," he said, likely responding to video footage of a rebel commander cutting the body of a fallen soldier and biting into one of his organs.
"Are these the people you want to support? Is it them who you want to supply with weapons?" Now that stance seems to have changed. Not only has Russia revived the Stalin-era practice of throwing convicted murderers onto the battlefield to support its war in Ukraine, this so-called "suicide squad" includes at least two cannibals.
The Kremlin has recruited tens of thousands of prisoners since the full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine began in February 2022 to create its "Storm-Z" squads, which are deployed to carry out highly attritional, infantry-led frontal assaults at the most dangerous parts of the battlefield.
Russian officials have never acknowledged creating Storm-Z units with convicts, and the Kremlin hasn't confirmed the total number of prisoners recruited by the now-dissolved Wagner Group and the Defense Ministry.
However, Newsweek has learned that the total number of convicts who have been offered presidential pardons in exchange for six months fighting in Ukraine exceeds 100,000, with some 50,000 now free to walk the streets of Russia.
A list of some recruited prisoners obtained by Newsweek revealed that men past retirement age are among them. The majority are convicts from the country's ethnic minority republics, Olga Romanova, the head of Russia Behind Bars, a charity advocating prisoners' rights, told Newsweek.
Denne historien er fra December 22, 2023-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 22, 2023-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Falling for Romance
A new book, Nora Ephron at the Movies, celebrates the writer/director best known for her iconic rom-coms and strong female characters
Cracking the Norse Code
Walrus DNA has shown that Vikings were likely the first to have encountered Indigenous North Americans
Monumental Shift
The discovery of 165-million-year-old crystals Easter Island has upended the longheld notion of how the Earth's \"conveyor belt\" moves
'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'
It is a well-known fact across the globe that the North Korean regime is irrational and unpredictable, but we have been consistent in strengthening our defense posture against the threat from North Korea since the Korean War, and I believe that their conventional capability is much inferior to that of the Korean military.
'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'
Like Paris Hilton, Natasia Pelowski claims she was subjected to abuse at a teenage therapy program
Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout'
Vladimir Putin admits difficulties” as the country’s key interest rate reaches a historic high
China's 'Silent Chemical War'
The U.S. must investigate Beijing's role in the manufacturing of fentanyl that is killing Americans, says one mom whose daughter died after accidentally taking the illicit substance
HARSH HEADWINDS
President Yoon Suk Yeol's BATTLE to reform a South Korea beset with structural problems under the specter of an increasingly aggressive neighbor to THE NORTH
Bridget Everett
BRIDGET EVERETT NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THE LEAD OF A TV SHOW. \"I come from the downtown world in New York, a cabaret singer, and these things just don't happen, you don't find yourself with three seasons of HBO.
Amber Ruffin
A LATE-NIGHT COMEDY SHOW ON CNN? YES, and it's a game show, too.
