Russia braces for eventual return of its enormous army

London (Reuters) -Rus was a one -way ticket for war for war for a murderer.

The 37-year-old child served less than one-third of a nine-year murder-2021 in the summer of a divorce because he wanted a divorce because he stabbed his wife in his car-Ukraine was released and forgiven by Russia to fight.

The six -month battlefield did not reduce his appetite for violent revenge against women throwing him.

After returning to civilian life, he stabbed an old girlfriend in more than 60 times and worked in October last year after rejecting his progress. In July, he was imprisoned for more than 19 years for crazy murder.

The Case of Salkaliyev, who came together from the court records and hearings in Saratov, is a shocking example of social problems that could wait for Russia as hundreds of thousands of soldiers – some of them forgives prisoners – following a final end of the war.

“Everyone, perhaps more than 1.5 million Russian men and women participated in the war.” He said.

He continued: “When more is more and more discharged and returning home, Russia will see a veteran flow with the psychological effects of the war.”

Such concerns go to the peak, President Vladimir Putin sees an army that has returned as a potential risk that an army that he wants to avoid destabilizing society, and he told Reuters close to the Kremlin.

One of the sources is to avoid the repetition of social wrinkles following the end of the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan, and veterans assist the 1990s fuel a wave of crime.

The same source will create anything like the generous salaries of many of those who return to civilian life, which will create discontent. For example, an army from Moscow can be hired, at least 5.2 million rubles ($ 65,000) in his early years in Ukraine, including the bonus of 1.9 million rubles ($ 24,000), which is only up to the average annual salary of the capital.

The Kremlin, the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice did not respond to requests for comments about the risks revealed by the units returning from Ukraine.

Claiming to be guilty of both murders and the second penalty in the maximum security penalty colony serving in the colony of Salkaliyev, Reuters could not be reached.

The challenges of the ruling veterans are not specific to Russia. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, approximately 2.7 million Americans in Vietnam had a “important minority” psychological and life-mooning problems.

An important difference in the war in Ukraine from many conflicts is that both sides deploy convicts to the battlefield.

The Russian prison service and the data obtained from Ukraine’s intelligence services show that Russia has received 120,000-180,000 convictions to fight in Ukraine since 2022.

The soldiers who came home so far saw the convicts, those who were poorly injured, or others are too old to fight. But most of the army – Putin said that about 700,000 soldiers were fighting in Ukraine – still there.

The Ministry of Defense no longer returned to community such as Iskaliyev in Ukraine in Ukraine, changed the rules in 2023, and the authorities said it was unfair that criminals received better conditions than ordinary volunteers. Now, like normal recruitment that signed a contract, they should continue to fight until the war is over.

Civilians killed by veterans

Verstka, an independent Russian media organization, calculated that approximately 500 civilians were the victims of veterans who returned to fight in Ukraine in October last year.

The organization said that at least 242 people were killed and 227 were seriously injured by using open -source data on military crimes from media reports and Russian court records.

Reuters could not confirm these figures independently.

Russian officials called Verstka in Prague in December 2023 in Prague. They said that Outlet opposed Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine and distributed unreliable information about Russian policies, allegations rejected by Verstka and not carefully control the facts and are not 100% sure.

One -second of the sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters that the government was afraid of a mass -controlled political system of the country’s strictly controlled political system.

When Putin had a wagner -mercenary chef Yevgeny Prigozhin in June 2023, when the army rebelled against the best rice, he had a dangerous taste of the chaos he could do at home.

The third source said the Kremlin is working to manage a number of policies, programs and appointments, including the order of Putin, to help veterans to take part in the regional elections last year and to bring them forward for the next year for federal parliamentary elections.

Putin said that the “fighters who fought in Ukraine were part of” real elite “, promised veterans a prestigious career and personally interested in a distinguished training program called” Time of Heroes “to prepare them for civilian leadership.

A veteran, a decorated tank commander named Artur Orlov, was held responsible for the President of the President of the President’s Soviet -style youth movement. Another, former Battalion Commander Artyom Zhoga was appointed as a special representative in Putin’s wide Urals region.

The other four veterans were employed under the administration of the Presidency, while there was a seat in the upper Assembly of the Parliament, while others were employed in different branches of the regional government.

At a Kremlin meeting with some participants in June, Putin explained the logic that he described as “deep belief” behind this plan.

“People who make conscious decisions to serve the homeland and thus to achieve personal success should gradually occupy certain positions.” He said.

Afgantsy & Ukraysy

The opinions vary according to the validity of the comparisons with the 1990s, while the veterans, called “Afganty”, struggle to help re -integrate and crime again, with post -traumatic stress disorder and leaning in alcohols and alcohols.

Zhoga, who was killed in Ukraine, said that Ukrainian veterans, who are already called “Ukainy”, would avoid problems that Afghan veterans detonated the state’s efforts.

This view was shared by the third source in 1989, close to the Kremlin, who said that the collapse of the Soviet Union was followed two years after the end of the Afghan War, and that it created a mature power and security gap for chaos. The source, which acknowledges that convicts naturally a special category that creates a higher risk, is different today because the political system and law enforcement officers are stronger.

Nevertheless, others argue that the return of Ukraine veterans can cause a more serious problem than Afgantsy.

Gregory Feifer, the author of “The Great Gamble”, a book about Afghanistan’s Soviet invasion, told Reuters that the official death of the Ukraine has become a much more bloody conflict than Afghanistan, where the official Soviet death of the war in Ukraine is about 15,000.

“The figures are much bigger now,” said Feifer, General Manager of the Institute of World Affairs in Washington. “We are talking about a much more painful conflict.”

Galeotti, the author of the terosir challenges report, said he did not think that the return veterans would reach the “90s field”.

“But considering that there is much more ‘ukrayssy’ than the population, ‘I am afraid of a real boredom’ from Afgantsy ‘.”

(Reporting Reuters journalists by Pruvin Char)