To Westerners, the solution was inhuman. To compensate for the dismal performance of its troops in the early months of the Ukraine war, Russia formed assault units of convicts and other “expendables” in 2023.

But for Vladimir Putin’s government — to whom only victory mattered — sending waves of suicide troops who can absorb real bullets has enabled more valued Russian regulars to seize more ground from Ukraine.

The laboratory for this ruthless approach came at the Battle of Bakhmut in late 2022 and early 2023, when the Wagner Group — a mercenary outfit — employed assault units mostly composed of convicts pardoned in return for fighting in Ukraine. This approach combined with area-battering of glide-bombing has outlasted Wagner Group’s involvement, allowing Russian forces to seize more land without triggering the unrest back home that could threaten Putin’s rule.