By Bond Robertson 
Recruits should not participate in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now it is said that President Vladimir Putin will punish the officials who fired them anyway.
Reports of the Russian state news agency tast.
According to TASS, Putin has now received a report of instructions he must have issued before invading the neighboring country, and he is not satisfied with their implementation.
Putin and those around him have on several occasions denied the participation of conscripts in hostilities in Ukraine.
But the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed, on Wednesday, the presence of conscripts on the ground in Ukraine, and that some of them are being held by Ukrainian forces.
Many recruits were arrested
The state news agency quoted Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying that a number of officials, including conscripts, had been arrested (in Ukraine). RIA Novosti.
Extensive measures are being implemented to prevent the dispatch of recruits to combat zones and to release captured officials.
Recruits who compose Big part of the Russian army, basically not allowed to operate outside the Russian borders, among other things Washington Post I wrote earlier.
According to reports of Russian soldiers who escaped, were captured, or showed signs of poor fighting spirit Analysts He cited the soldiers’ inexperience as a possible explanation.
Russia’s entry into Ukraine did not go as planned Many analysts pointed out. Within two weeks, the huge Russian military machine had not succeeded in controlling large cities of strategic importance such as the capital Kyiv or Kharkiv in the east.
Russian conscription applies to all men between the ages of 18 and 27, but conscripts can be as old as 16, according to a report by researchers at the world-renowned Institute for the Study of War.
The report, published on March 5, indicated that the recruits may already have been on the ground.
How many recruits were involved is unknown.
can be punished
Putin himself said that only professional soldiers would take part in a “special military operation,” the term Russia uses for the invasion.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin had instructed the commanders of the military forces to “categorically exclude” the involvement of conscripts in Ukraine, according to TASS.
Now the authorities will punish those responsible for non-compliance with this order, Peskov said, according to TASS.
– It could be a game
How likely is it that Putin didn’t know the recruits went to Ukraine?
It may be, he says, to VG by phone, Captain Amund Osflaten.
– Or it could be a game but I don’t know.
Osflaten is an instructor in tactical cooperation at the War School and specializes in Russian strategic culture and military methods.
It shows that the Russian army is divided into brigades that include contract soldiers and conscripts. When these are on assignments, there may be situations where it is tempting to bring a recruiter with you – for example if they lack important personnel.
Attempt to “Wash Wash”
Ukrainian Victoria Fedorchak, a lecturer in European studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and a specialist in military history, was not convinced.
Putin rules the country. He wanted to know who had been sent, she told VG on the phone.
Fedorchak says this is an attempt by Putin to “get rid of the war” and quell frustration at home in order to maintain a good grip on power.
Putin made a mistake when he entered Ukraine. We see that children who cannot bear arms properly are sent to Ukraine. She says, of course, that was a mistake.
– This is an attempt to change the narrative and show his interest in Russian children.