Russia wants Ukrainians to fight other Ukrainians

Moscow is trying to compel Ukrainians living in the Russia-occupied regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—to fight other Ukrainians as Russian forces suffer significant casualties, according to Ukrainian officials.

To save themselves from forced military service, Ukrainians are resorting to breaking their own arms, hiding and running away even though leaving the city is not allowed, per The New York Times.

Moscow is trying to mobilize thousands of new fighters as the country’s push to compulsorily enroll Russians to fight in Ukraine met with protests across the nation. Interestingly, the move comes at the same time a Kremlin-orchestrated vote got underway Friday in occupied regions of Ukraine to make them a part of Russia.