New sanctions on Russians recruiting conscripts and prisoners to Putin’s war machine

Mobilised civilians believed to be used as ‘cannon fodder’ in stalled invasion of Ukraine

Vladimir Putin (Sputnik)

Britain has today announced sanctions on Russian officials responsible for the forced mobilisation of citizens to fight in Ukraine.

Also targeted was the head of Russia’s prison system, accused of supporting the recruitment of convicts to fight as mercenaries in return for pardons for crimes including murder and sex attacks.

Ill-equipped and poorly trained conscripts – many of them drawn from Russia’s ethnic minorities – have been sent to the frontline in recent months as “cannon fodder” as Vladimir Putin’s invasion met fierce resistance from Ukraine.