Drunk recruits. Insubordinate soldiers. Convicts. They're among hundreds of military and civilian offenders who've been pressed into Russian penal units known as "Storm-Z" squads and sent to the frontlines in Ukraine this year, according to 13 people with knowledge of the matter, including five fighters in the units.

Russia's 'Storm-Z' squads: Tale of hundreds of offenders sent to frontlines to fight Ukraine

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Russia's 'Storm-Z' squads: Tale of hundreds of offenders sent to frontlines to fight Ukraine