War activity
Investigation finds Russia’s billboards featuring troops fighting in Ukraine include men with criminal convictions and soldiers accused of war crimes
Billboards featuring portraits of soldiers fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine are a common sight in Russian cities. Their stories appear on the Russian Defense Ministry’s website — but the official biographies leave out some facts. The news outlet Bumaga identified 24 soldiers featured on billboards in St. Petersburg. They include soldiers killed at the front, former prisoners awarded the title of Hero of Russia, and suspected perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine. Meduza is translating Bumaga’s full report on these men and other soldiers featured on the Defense Ministry’s website — more than