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The prisoners at the penal colony in St. Petersburg were expecting a visit by officials, thinking it would be some sort of inspection. Instead, men in uniform arrived and offered them amnesty — if they agreed to fight alongside the Russian army in Ukraine.
Over the following days, about a dozen or so left the prison, according to a woman whose boyfriend is serving a sentence there.
As Russia continues to suffer losses in its invasion of Ukraine, now nearing its sixth month, the Kremlin has refused to announce a full-blown mobilization — a move that could be very unpopular for President Vladimir Putin.
This also is happening amid reports that hundreds of Russian soldiers are refusing to fight & trying to quit the military.
“We’re seeing a huge outflow of people who want to leave the war zone — those who have been serving for a long time and those who have signed a contract just recently,” said lawyer Alexei Tabalov.
The group has seen an influx of requests from men who want to terminate their contracts, “and I personally get the impression that everyone who can is ready to run away,” Tabalov said.
Regional administrations are forming “volunteer battalions” that are promoted on state television. The business daily Kommersant counted at least 40 such entities in 20 regions, with officials promising volunteers monthly salaries ranging from the equivalent of $2,150 to nearly $5,500, plus bonuses.
But complaints also are surfacing in the media that some aren’t getting their promised payments.
The United States is discussing the deployment of American military forces to Eastern Europe with its NATO allies, a senior administration official said Monday, as President Joe Biden weighs options for responding to Russian threats against Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has placed 8,500 troops on “heightened alert” to assist with the defense of NATO allies, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said during a news briefing Monday. He said no deployment orders have been given.
"I want to reinforce that as of now, the decision has been made to put these units on higher alert and higher alert only," said Kirby. "No decisions have been made to deploy forces from the United States at this time."
With Moscow massing more than 100,000 troops at its neighbor's border and no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, the West is stepping up its response amid mounting fears an invasion could be imminent.
Conversations are underway with NATO countries that could receive U.S. military forces as part of a plan to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression, the official said.
NATO said Monday that it was sending ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe and that Washington “has also made clear that it is considering increasing its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance.”
Biden participated in a roughly 90-minute video conference with European leaders Monday afternoon to discuss Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, the White House said. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Polish President Andrzej Duda, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and other leaders participated in the call.
Following the video conference, Biden told reporters it was a "very, very, very good meeting," adding that there was "total unanimity with all the European leaders." The president said he would have more to say on the issue later.
In a statement, the White House said Biden and European leaders "reiterated their continued concern about the Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s borders and expressed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The White House said the leaders "underscored their shared desire for a diplomatic resolution" and also discussed "their joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine."
Biden was briefed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday about U.S. options for responding if Russia invades Ukraine, as well as options for U.S. military movements in advance of an invasion, according to a defense official and a senior administration official.
Among the options presented for the U.S. military in advance of an invasion were bomber flights over the region, ship visits into the Black Sea and the moving of troops and some equipment from other parts of Europe into Poland, Romania and other countries neighboring Ukraine.
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