Russia admits it sent young conscripts into its Ukraine war after Putin denied those troops were involved

• Russia's army said on Wednesday that young draftees were sent to fight in its war against Ukraine.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin previously denied that conscripts were involved in the attack.

Russia's military admitted on Wednesday that young draftees were sent to fight in its war against Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that conscripts were involved in the attack.

"Unfortunately, some facts have come to light about the presence of conscript servicemen among the Russian armed forces conducting the special military operation on Ukrainian territory," said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

"Practically all of the conscripts have been returned to the territory of the Russian Federation," Konashenkov added.

Konashenkov said, however, that some of the conscripts have been captured.

"In addition, one of the divisions operating toll security has been attacked by a diversionist group of the national battalion," he said, adding, "A number of military personnel, some of which conscripts, were captured in this attack."

Konashenkov continued, "Effective immediately, exhaustive measures have been taken to prevent conscripts from entering any and all combat zones, and to free captured personnel."

Earlier this week, Putin said that only "professional" Russian soldiers were sent in to invade Ukraine and that he would not send conscripts to fight, according to The Moscow Times.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday Putin ordered conscripts to be excluded from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to Russian state media.

Before Russia launched its February 24 attack on Ukraine, Putin had instructed all military commanders "to categorically exclude the involvement of conscripts for any tasks on the territory of Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, the state-owned TASS news agency reported.

"In connection with the facts of the presence of a number of conscripts in the units of the armed forces who are participating in a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine, at the direction of the President of Russia, materials have been sent to the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office to verify and legally assess the actions and punish officials responsible for failure to comply with this order," Peskov said, according to TASS.

Translations by Nikita Angarski.