Russia

Inside Russia’s ‘Kafka-esque’ Mass Kidnapping Scheme

TOTAL HEAD F*CK

A deranged “filtration” system gives Ukrainian civilians—including young children—the illusion of choice but, in reality, they are being kidnapped en masse by the Russian state.

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Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

Nearly six months into Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, with up to 1.6 million Ukrainians forcibly taken to Russia so far, Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces are now using civilians as cannon fodder on the front line and faking artillery attacks to trick them to cross the border.

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