Russian soldiers who want out of the war are deserting and turning themselves in, hoping for prison time. Some are hiring lawyers to make it happen.

Many Russian soldiers unwilling to fight in Ukraine are deserting and then turning themselves in, seeking prosecution and imprisonment to avoid being sent back to the front. As the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reports, some are even hiring lawyers to persuade investigators to open criminal cases against them, though that doesn’t always work.

Original source: Meduza