INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A jailed ex-minister in annexed Crimea has asked to join the Russian military and be deployed to Ukraine, a Russian prison watchdog
war in Ukraine in the summer of 2022, offering pardons in exchange for serving six months on the battlefield
The effort was initially spearheaded by the Wagner mercenary group but eventually taken over by the Defense Ministry in early 2023.Reports
in early 2024 said the practice of presidential pardons has since been graduallyphased out in favor of conditional release for the duration
