"When Free Russia was formed, I applied, went through some background checks, and ended up here.” The two men now form a mortar crew squaring off against raw Russian troops. “Putin really raised the stakes with mobilization,” Tsezar said. “Earlier, we were fighting against the so-called ‘little green men’ and some Vasya was sitting in Saratov watching television,” he said, using a diminutive of the common Russian first name Vasily. “Now Vasya has to get off his butt and crawl around a cold trench outside of Bakhmut while Tikhy and I fire mortars at him,” he said. “Vasya’s attitude is...