INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Vladimir Putin has personally pardoned Russian convicts who fight in Ukraine with the Kremlin-linked Wagner mercenary group, a
pardoned as promised after completing a six-month term of service.The release of convict soldiers has sparked questions about the move's
legality, given that jailed Russians may only walk free before finishing their sentence if they receive a presidential pardon.According to
ex-BBC Russian journalist Andrei Zakharov, a closed police database lists at least two convicts who were pardoned by Putin last summer.A
presidential pardons, citing the secrecy of some decrees.Wagner is believed to have recruited as many as 50,000 prisoners for the war in
Ukraine, a figure that correlates with a 23,000 drop in the number of Russian prisoners last fall.
