A fifth of Russian prisoners recruited to fight in Ukraine are HIV positive, with convicts promised

anti-viral drugs if they agreed to fight

About a fifth of recruits sent to fight in Ukraine from Russian prisons are HIV positive, according to estimates by Ukrainian authorities, with several captured Russian soldiers telling The New York Times they were promised life-saving anti-viral medications if they agreed to fight.

One detainee told The Times that he took the offer to fight in Ukraine because the Russian prison system deprived him of supplies of effective medications that he needed to survive.

Timur, 37, told the publication that in prison he was put on HIV medications that he feared were ineffective, and that he worried that he wouldn't survive on these treatments for the duration of his sentence. He was identified only by his first name in order to avoid retaliation if he returned to Russia.

Timur told the newspaper that in December he was offered an alternative — six months with the infamous Wagner Group fighting in Ukraine in exchange for a pardon and the promise of supplies of anti-virals.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-fifth-of-russian-prisoners-recruited-to-fight-in-ukraine-are-hiv-positive-with-convicts-promised-anti-viral-drugs-if-they-agreed-to-fight-report/ar-AA1a9BD8