“The Nevsky Battalion is accepting volunteers.” This recruitment ad appeared on Russian social media in summer 2025 and is hardly a one-off. Swap out “Nevsky” for “Wolves,” “Saint George,” or any of three dozen similar formations and a pattern emerges: Russia is leaning ever harder on irregular forces to sustain its war on Ukraine.Moscow’s use of irregular units has transformed its military into a hybrid war machine. They are institutionalized under state control and deployed at scale, making up as much as 40 percent of the Russian-commanded troops now arrayed against Ukraine. Often tasked with the deadliest and most politicallyThe post Inside Russia’s Shadow Military Sustaining the War appeared first on War on the Rocks.