300,000 Russian soldiers have died or# been injured, many of them conscripts.

And as Nick Schifrin and producer Sarah Cutler# report, for soldiers from Siberia and Russia's## far east, which is home to many ethnic# minorities, the price has been overwhelming.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In Russia's far east, the funerals# are all too common.

The widows are so distraught,## they have to be carried by an honor guard.# And the cemeteries are filled with soldiers,## many of their graves freshly dug.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of# Ukraine, men from th remote, poor, and home to many# of the country's minority groups,## have borne the brunt of the war# and died disproportionately.

ALEX, Fled Russia (through translator):# A lot of people have been sent there.## It looks like Russia is trying# to e NICK SCHIFRIN: Thirty-year-old Alex, who ask we# hide his identify, is from the Re an area the size of India, many of whose# one million residents are ethnically Turkic.

ALEX (through translator): It seemed as# if they were officially mobilizing only## our ethnic peoples and sending them to war,# as if NICK SCHIFRIN: His social media from before# the full-scale invasion shows a normal life,## a day on the job, posing with a new ride,# spending time with loved ones.

That world,## his world was lost when he was suddenly# conscripted last September during a wave of## mobilization and flown from his hometown# to a military base a few hours away.

He was shocked by what he saw.

ALEX (through translator): Normally, there# are informational stands to show, for example,## who was on duty.

But, this time, there were# only photos of dead Uk and the inscription was: "They should be killed."

In this way, I believe that they were# preparing us toward what would happen.

NATALIA ARNO, Free Russia Foundation;# It's easier to take those who know less,## and, usually, these are very# remote places, rural villages.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Natalia Arno:is the# founder and president of the Free## Russia Foundation.

She says Vladimir# Putin's war machine minorities with less education# and fewer resources cannon fodder.

NATALIA ARNO: The more remote they# are, the less information they can get,## the less human rights organizations working# with them and advocating for th NICK SCHIFRIN: The BBC found that# six of the 10 Russian regions with## the highest mortality rates in Ukraine# are located in Siberia and And that men from Buryatia, a Russian republic# whose residents are descended from Mongols,## are 75 times more likely to# die than men from Moscow.

NATALIA ARNO: When Putin's# Russia attacked Ukraine,## it's definitely a genocide, a very tragic# genocide of Ukrainians.

in side Russia, there is an# ethno side of ethnic minorities.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Arno is half-Buryat# and says minority recruitment is## just a crescendo of decades of discrimination.

NATALIA ARNO: It was impossible# to learn my own language,## Buryat language in schools.

When# I moved to Moscow and I couldn afford to allow my son to use the Moscow# metro, for example, it was very dangerous.

And that's why I can relate to all# these ethnic minority groups saying,## like, it's not our war.

You are not# treating us as normal citizens of## Russia.

We cannot even be safe# in the capital of our country.

NICK SCHIFRIN: A handful of# Buryats have risked certain## arrests to protest the Ukraine war.# men from communities such as theirs# avoid the draft or leave the country.

ALEXANDRA GARMAZHAPOVA, Free Buryatia# Foundation (through translator): Indigenous## pe the empire.

Vladimir Putin is acting# very consistently in this regard.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Alexandra Garmazhapova is# the founder of the Free Buryatia Foundation,## which receives daily calls and texts# from new conscripts and their families.

MAN: "Need a lawyer's phone# number?

Someone I know was## mobilized two weeks ago and tricked# into signing a contract for a WOMAN: "My son is writing a letter# to officials refusing to serve,## but we are both afraid they will deny him.# How can we get him out of this MA N: "What will happen to a mobilized person# leave if he doesn't return to Ukrain ALEXANDRA GARMAZHAPOVA (through# translator): We explain to military## personnel how to t Kremlin considers most dangerous.

We# explain to people what their ri One of the official reasons for# Russia's invasion of Ukraine,## the Kremlin cited the denazification of Ukraine.# But we are peopl manifestations of racism and xenophobia on the# territory of the Russian Federation itself.

NICK SCHIFRIN: This year, Moscow introduced# new laws to expand their pool of recruits,## raising the maximum age and# restricting recruits' ability## to access government services# until they report for duty.

And the government launched a campaign to# try and convince more Russians to sign up,## including ads on TV that# suggest soldiers, not civilians,## are real men.

And Moscow increased soldiers'# pay, often appealing to Russian mino As for Alex, days after he was mobilized and# arrived on base, he crawled under a hole in## the fence and into a taxi.

He sped to the airport# and got on the first flight he could to Kazakstan,## where he still lives today.

He's safe,# but stuck in limbo.

He lives incognito,## with a Russian criminal case for# desertion hanging over his head.

ALEX (through translator): I don't do# anything.

I don't have official employment## right now.

There are 17 people like me# with criminal ca we're just hoping that some# countries will give us asylum.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Until then, he waits,## knowing he has at least avoi For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.