comment: >
  
  Obviously they were released on good behavior
context: They probably use the prisoners as lures to locate Ukrainian positions. >
  
  They are sent toward Ukrainian lines to find weaknesses. If they reach a certain point the commanders know that that spot is weaker. If they all die they know it’s heavily defended. >
  
  It’s like the days of forlorn hope vanguards. 
  You’d think in a day of armoured vehicles and drones there’d be a less horrifying way to locate enemy positions. >
  
  The difference between forlorn hope vanguards and Russian cannon fodder scouts is that the formers were the best soldiers who are well paid for the dangers they put themselves in, whereas the latter are just some expendable Vlads and Ivans.
  Pretty sad really >
  
  Yep, the idea of joining the "forlorn hope"-squad was that you'd scale the walls first in sieges but you would also get the first spoils of looting once the city was captured aside from getting paid higher daily wages than regular mercenaries and infantry. >
  
  In the French military it also guaranteed you a promotion if you survived, regardless of if the objective was actually achieved. >
  
  Honestly that sounds like a sweet deal >
  
  The casualty rate was… not exactly low. It was basically a suicide mission. But yes, it was seen as a great deal and junior officers with ambitions and no connections literally fought each other for the opportunity. >
  
  Either you come back alive with glory and money or it's not your problem anymore. >
  
  Wouldn't that give the other inmate soldiers more initiative to revolt as soon as they get a gun in their hands? >
  
  Who said they were giving them guns. >
  
  “You wear clicky vest and run into building komrad” >
  
  “Okay, so I run in there, bomb blows up, I come back for Party and Vodka, yes?” >
  
  -_- ok yeah >
  
  Damn at least the other guys are offering virgins.
  Oh, what's that? Uh huh, ok shit they meant neckbeard virgins. Not what I was hoping for. I'll switch back to the vodka and party. 
  Gimmie the vest. >
  
  Hah, imagine the afterlife is an eternity of trying to fend off rapey advances from horny virgin swampbeasts >
  
  That’s… dark >
  
  99% chance of death or death. Those are the choices. The fact that's the options they're given is insane. >
  
  Seems like turning your gun on your commanders would be an option >
  
  Honestly.  There's more of them than the commanders.  All they have to do is frag their commander and high tail it to Ukrainian lines.  They most certainly will be treated better by Ukraine and will be free. >
  
  That one dude ran off to be captured and was traded back to Russia only to have his skull smashed on camera_ >
  
  Do you have a link to an article about this?
  edit: found it, for anyone else looking, here is the transcript from the podcast where it’s talked about. >
  
  Are you talking about Yevgeny Prigozhin of Wagner?
  These people are beyond fucked up. >
  
  Yea. He even made a little joke about it >
  
  What an absolute ghoul. >
  
  after watching Russians play Rambo towards a Ukraine trench line while hip shooting, this is legit >
  
  Where did you see this? >
  
  /r/combatfootage probably. Not even the craziest thing from Ukraine on there. The footage posted of Russian soldiers getting smoked every single day is bananas. >
  
  The blow job grenade drop is pretty wild >
  
  Umm the what now? >
  
  A drone video of a Russian dude giving another a BJ. Drone drops a bomb and smokes them both. It’s fairly obvious and kinda disturbing. >
  
  At least they were happy in their final moments. >
  
  Based on the state of things, it's not clear it was consensual. There's an unholy amount of rape occurring within the Russian army, if claims are to be believed. >
  
  I wouldn’t doubt it. But I’m hoping they were both enjoying consensual deep throat action. >
  
  Dropping a dime on a sixty nine. >
  
  
  Captured Russian inmates who have been sent to the front lines in Ukraine as part of the Wagner Group, an infamous mercenary organization with ties to the Kremlin, say they've witnessed public executions of deserters and disobedient troops, per a new report from Polygon Media and the independent Mozhem Obyasnit outlet. 
  
  Maybe the Ukrainians should come up with some easy-to-follow instructions for those inmates to surrender that they can broadcast to them across the battle lines.
  
  The first batch of prisoners to survive six months of fighting in Ukraine was recently released back into Russia, with the head of the mercenary group celebrating them as heroes deserving of great respect while also advising them not to drink too much, do drugs, rape women, or kill.
  
  Was this generous advise like, “by the way…”? I’m kind of surprised that they’d actually give those sage instructions since repeat offenses would give them an excuse to send the offenders right back to the front lines. I guess I’m kind of cynical of Russian forgiveness and lifestyle tips generosity. >
  
  If they surrender, Russia will offer a prisoner swap and behead them. >
  
  I wonder if they get the option to just claim asylum and be removed from the prisoner swap pool >
  
  Do the prisoners get guns? Could they be used to fake-out weak spots to trap Wagner soldiers? >
  
  The prisoners do get guns, but they’re not the only soldiers. They’re intended to be the spearheads of assaults and bullet sponges. They get sent first, and if the Ukrainians fire upon them, that exposes the position of snipers, machine gun nests, artillery, etc, and then artillery or air strikes can be called upon those positions, or professional troops or trained reserves can follow up by storming enemy positions with knowledge of which positions to avoid and where to flank. >
  
  It's so hard for me to understand how people can use other humans in this way. I have a hard time doing this to my units in video games. >
  
  I know right? I am a pacifist to my core, I used to think as a kid that every person I killed in GTA could have experienced life just as I was. I couldn't imagine sending a real person to their death. >
  
  I've played most entries in the Total War franchise but I don't play factions that are designed around exploiting cannon fodder units. I know it's weird to play that type of game but still draw a line at what I consider distasteful. >
  
  I mean, you could still play the Vampire Lords in the Total War: Warhammer series. At least their cannon fodder is already dead.
  Or Greenskins. At least their cannonfodder is evil shroom-goblins that literally thrive in violence and reproduce by being in half and spreading spores. >
  
  I could, but I choose to play the faction that has dinosaur friends and infantry that live through most battles. Either them or the hippies that want everyone to just fuck off out of their forests. >
  
  There's really no wrong answers honestly. Except perhaps the French bastards that just send peasants to die in droves while the knights watch imperiously from the backlines >
  
  I love epic cavalry charges but fuck bretonnia. >
  
  I was just reading last week about those Wagner prisoners they released back into Russia. They did their six month stent and only 24 of the thousands of them are going back home. These guys are sent to the slaughter. I mean they recruited thousands of those guys Thousands and only 24 are going back. >
  
  Those 24 are probably mangled and injured past the point of return, physically or mentally/emotionally or BOTH >
  
  OR, that 24 were never near the front line, they were hand picked, sent to a relatively calm part of Ukraine, well fed, well looked after. Then released back in Russia to be paraded around and to tell the Russians how well they were treated and what life is like on the 'front line'. >
  
  That’s not necessary I bet. >
  
  One day two peasants were sitting by a road when one said “We’re late for work!”
  His friend said “What’s the penalty for that?”
  “Death” The first peasant replied.
  “What’s the penalty for rebellion?” The second peasant asked.
  “Death” the first replied
  “Well we are already late so…” >
  
  Chen Sheng Wu Guang uprising 
  
  The Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising (simplified Chinese: 陈胜吴广起义; traditional Chinese: 陳勝吳廣起義; pinyin: Chén Shèng Wú Guǎng Qǐyì), July–December 209 B.C., was the first uprising against the Qin dynasty following the death of Qin Shi Huang. Led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, the uprising helped overthrow the Qin and paved the way for the Han dynasty, one of China's greatest golden ages.
  
  ^([ )^(F.A.Q)^( | )^(Opt Out)^( | )^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)^( | )^(GitHub)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5) >
  
  Russian military tactics are straight up dog shit >
  
  Man, we have regressed back into WW1, forcing soldiers to run into gunfire with little to no chances of success. >
  
  It's how the Russians operated in WWII as well... >
  
  They just had enough waves of men to lose, in that case they were fighting to defend their land. A fact lost on them today >
  
  It also helped that Hitler wanted to genocide them.  Surrender meant death either way.  Only option was to fight. >
  
  Hitler wanted to genocide the Slavs and resettle the lands with Germans.  Putin wants to erase Ukraine as a nationality and replace them with Russian culture.  
  The similarities between modern times and the early 20th century are striking.  From a geopolitical stand point I mean.  What we are seeing now is disturbingly similar to what was happening in the West before WW1. >
  
  Penal legions, what were they expecting? >
  
  Penile lesions you say?? >
  
  To shreds, you say? >
  
  What about their loved ones? >
  
  To shreds you say... >
  
  Good news, everyone! >
  
  /r/unexpectedfuturama >
  
  Oh, my, no... >
  
  This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 79%. (I'm a bot)
  
  
  Alexander Drozdov, another former inmate cited in the report, said many of the Russian prisoners sent to the front line in Ukraine by Wagner are drug addicts and "Completely insane." While some recruited prisoners may desert or disobey orders, others "Are just fucked up and bulldoze their way through," Drozdov said, noting that these fighters "Are very different from ordinary mercenaries."
  In an effort to address worsening manpower issues, the Wagner Group has fought alongside the Russian military and has recruited Russian prisoners in the process.
  Last month, a top Ukrainian military advisor said that Russian prisoners fighting with Wagner were being shoved to the front line and "Killed in big quantities."
  
  
  Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: Russian^#1 prisoners^#2 Soledar^#3 military^#4 Ukraine^#5 >
  
  Imagine becoming an involuntary meat shield for a walking Napoleon complex >
  
  r/brandnewsentance >
  
  According to russian official data, they had 523.928 prisoners in 2020, and it decreased to 439.453 in 01.11.2022 (DD.MM.YYYY). Interestingly enough, number of women prisoners only decreased from 40.026 to 39.153 in the same period.
  So, in the last 2 years, there are 84 thousand less prisoners, among which only 850 were women. 
  I wonder why...