Ten years on from his death, we re-assess David Bowie's legacy.

Though Russia’s conscription system is separate from its wartime mobilization campaign, completing mandatory military service against the backdrop of the full-scale war in Ukraine remains a major source of anxiety for many Russians. With the exception of the invasion’s chaotic first weeks, when conscripts were sent into combat despite official assurances to the contrary, there have been no apparent large-scale cases over the past 3.5 years in which these servicemen were deployed to Ukraine. Nonetheless, the risks remain high: conscripts are frequently assigned to guard dangerous stretches of the border, a job that led to some of their deaths and capture during the Ukrainian army’s 2024 incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. There’s also ample evidence that commanders have pressured conscripts into signing contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry.

YouTube video by eoin higgins