A court in Russia’s Siberian region of Yakutia sentenced him to 11 years in a maximum-security prison. So when recruiters from the private Wagner mercenary group offered him freedom and a clean slate if he deployed to fight in Ukraine, Mr. Savvinov, a morgue orderly, seized the opportunity. By February, Mr. Savvinov had completed his service and was back in his native village of Kutana. Russia’s practice of recruiting convicts has been the backbone of its success in Ukraine, providing an overwhelming manpower advantage in the war. But it is backfiring in tragic ways as inmates pardoned for serving in Ukraine return to Russia and commit new crimes.

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Persons: Viktor Savvinov, Wagner, Savvinov, axing Organizations: Mr, of, Fatherland Locations: Russia’s Siberian, Yakutia, Ukraine, Kutana, Russia