![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2022/05/27/17/Russia_Ukraine_War_A_Week_Photo_Gallery_53724.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp)
Russia has admitted to sending hundreds of conscripts to Ukraine after having denied that conscription had taken place.
Previously, Vladimir Putin claimed that the Russian military will never deploy young men into the warzone that had been recently drafted into the army amid a shortage of troops.
Moscow had said that only professional soldiers and officers were fighting in the invasion of Ukraine, which started on 24 February.