Russian Military Unit Admits To Hiring Women For Assault Detachments To Fight In Ukraine

The iStories report appeared to be the first confirmation that women are being hired for assault operations in Russia’s war on Ukraine. (illustrative photo)

Espanola, a military unit within the Redut network, is hiring women as fighters in its assault detachments, the media outlet iStories reported on November 28. The outlet said its correspondent phoned Espanola asking to join an assault detachment, whereupon an official explained procedures for getting a contract and details of the agreement. A recent RFE/RL investigation revealed that Redut is a recruitment system for combat units that is coordinated and funded by the Russian military and its intelligence agency, the GRU. The iStories report appeared to be the first confirmation that women are being hired for assault operations in Russia’s war on Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.