'Beaten until they enlisted': Russia ramps up forced recruitment amid Ukraine losses

Russia is increasingly pressuring men into military service through alleged coercion, detentions and beatings as voluntary recruitment slows (Image: Reuters)Russia is increasingly pressuring men into military service as voluntary recruitment slows, with military recruiters and police in some regions allegedly detaining men and coercing them into signing contracts to fight in Ukraine, according to The Wall Street Journal.The WSJ reported that the recruitment campaign has included men being stopped on streets, outside workplaces or during purported document checks and taken to military recruitment offices. Lawyers, rights activists and people who witnessed the incidents told the newspaper that some men were threatened or beaten until they agreed to enlist.The campaign echoes Russia’s 2022 pa