The Russian army admits for the first time that conscripts were taking part in Moscow’s military advance in Ukraine, after President Vladimir Putin vowed only professional soldiers were there.
Since Moscow poured in troops to Ukraine on February 24, there have been widespread reports of young conscripts fighting in the pro-Western country, with mothers of conscripts taking to social media to look for their sons and rights groups saying they were inundated with calls from conscripts’ families.
On Monday, Putin said he will not send conscripts or reservists to fight in Ukraine and that only “professional” soldiers were taking part in the conflict.
The Russian defense ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, says that some conscripts had been captured by Ukrainian forces.
“Unfortunately, several instances of the presence of conscripts in the units of the Russian armed forces participating in the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine have been confirmed,” he says.
“Almost all such servicemen have already been withdrawn to Russian territory,” he claims.
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