A group of inmates freed from prison to take part in Russia’s war against Ukraine is now complaining directly to Vladimir Putin that they’ve been duped.
In a video appeal shared by Astra on Tuesday, a man wearing a mask identifies himself as a commander in the Russian Defense Ministry’s Storm Z unit, made up primarily of ex-convicts, and stands in front of several men under his command, all from the Oryol region. He says that upon returning home from the battlefield, the men realized they’d been tricked by defense officials.
“All of my guys, and me, are having problems” getting recognized as veterans and receiving the social benefits that were promised, the commander says, adding that “promises have not been kept.”
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“When we were invited to join this unit, we were promised payment of 205,000, but it ended up being two times less,” he complained.
“All of the guys here bravely defended the interests of the Russian Federation, spilled their own blood, practically each one of us has been wounded, and severely wounded. I ask you to help achieve justice,” the commander said, addressing Putin and begging him to ensure that the men get all the payments and social benefits they were promised.
Russian troops have routinely complained of getting stiffed on pay throughout the country’s war against Ukraine, and ex-cons in particular have largely been seen as expendable as they are sent to join assault teams taking part in missions which often prove to be impossible.
As temperatures plunged well below zero earlier this week, Russian authorities began to turn off the heat in prisons to make conditions so “unbearable” that inmates will be compelled to join the war, human rights activist Olga Romanova, the founder of Russia Behind Bars, told Bild. “They’re just sending inmates to the front line in Ukraine en masse and sacrificing them there,” Romanova said.
