Politics
Russia's War Strain and Foreigners Lured to the Front
Reports that Putin has grown 'weak' under Ukrainian drone strikes — amid fuel shortages and a crippled economy from strikes on refineries — collided with news that foreigners are being lured to Russia's front lines. Some 800 Peruvians, recruited with promises of high-paying 'security guard' and 'cook' jobs at around ¥490,000 a month, were reportedly sent to fight in Ukraine with wages unpaid and no food. Japanese netizens responded with a mix of cold detachment — reaching for their own wartime memories — and humanitarian outrage at a state luring foreigners to be 'meat shields.'