There’s a second, even-sadder army behind that one. In the Donbass, (previously? Not sure how it is now) legally distinct from Russia itself, they were just mass-conscripting people for the meat grinder. The actual Russian citizens in Ukraine, though, are overwhelmingly volunteers (and overwhelmingly impoverished ethnic minorities) who were bribed or tortured during their rite of adulthood until they said “Dying in Ukraine is better than this” and ‘voluntarily’ signed a service contract.
I’m pretty sure that’s the army they’re using at the moment, I remember seeing news stories of elderly Farmers being conscripted over a year ago
There’s a second, even-sadder army behind that one. In the Donbass, (previously? Not sure how it is now) legally distinct from Russia itself, they were just mass-conscripting people for the meat grinder. The actual Russian citizens in Ukraine, though, are overwhelmingly volunteers (and overwhelmingly impoverished ethnic minorities) who were bribed or tortured during their rite of adulthood until they said “Dying in Ukraine is better than this” and ‘voluntarily’ signed a service contract.