russian soldiers
Russian servicemen take part in military exercises at the Uspenovskyi training ground outside the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, on September 4, 2022.
  • A Russian mother spoke to CNN about her convict son's death on the frontlines in Ukraine.
  • Yulia said her son Andrei lasted just three weeks before dying in battle.
  • She later received a letter from the Defense Ministry that marked his death as the day he left prison.

A Russian convict serving time for minor drug charges died three weeks after he was recruited to join the fighting in Ukraine — his hopes of terminating his remaining prison sentence quickly foiled, his mother told CNN