A Russian mother said military officers 'lied to my face' and she forced Putin's government to return her 2 conscripted sons who were not supposed to be in Ukraine

The mother of two sons who were sent to fight in Ukraine after being drafted to the Russian military was so excited that she forced the government to return them to her.

Marina told the outlet that in 2021, she told her two sons that they were going to be conscripted for a year in the country's military.

Russian troops were building at the Ukrainian border and Marina worried for her boys. Marina stopped hearing from her sons when Putin announced a military invasion into the neighboring country.

Time stopped for me. I was unable to eat. She told the BBC that she couldn't sleep because she exchanged messages with the mothers of other conscripts. Many of them lost contact with their children as well.

In early March, after weeks of denying that he had sent young conscripts into war, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov admitted that Russia had sent conscripts to Ukraine and that they were among the casualties.

After weeks of trying to drive into Ukraine herself, Marina heard from colleagues in her son's unit that they had signed military contracts to fight in Ukraine.

Marina told the BBC that she asked the prosecutor-general's office to investigate. I was certain. Other mothers wrote as well. They all knew their children.

The military prosecutor's office investigated Marina's claim and returned her sons to Russia, even though they had never signed military contracts.

Marina told the BBC that the men that came back from there were thin, dirty and exhausted. My son said that it was better that he didn't know what happened, but that he had come back alive.

She said that military officers lied to her.

They lied about my sons being in Ukraine. They lied that they signed military contracts. She told the BBC that officers lied and sergeants lied to her. Incredible. They were allowed to break the law and send my sons to Ukraine, but they weren't allowed to tell a mother where their children are.

She said that other families are still living with the nightmare of not knowing if their children are in the war.

Many sons haven't come back and never will. Marina said that many mothers are still looking for their children. You can see it in their eyes. They are different. They are not happy. I want them to believe in a bright future, in peace and love. They have stopped believing.