War in Ukraine fuels fears among draft-age Russian youths

By The Associated Press

As the Russian army bogs down in Ukraine, many youths back home feel increasingly jittery about the prospect of being drafted and sent into combat. A regular spring conscription began Friday, aiming to round up 134,500 young men for a one-year tour of duty. That is making such fears particularly acute. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has sought to assuage the public, pledging that the fresh recruits won’t be sent to the front lines. But those statements have been met with skepticism by many in Russia who remember the Chechen wars of the 1990s and early 2000s that saw thousands of poorly trained young men killed.