RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-WOMEN

A picture shows the pin of "The Women's Guard of the Urals" in Yekaterinburg on January 25, 2023. Wielding Soviet-designed Kalashnikov rifles, a gaggle of Russian women with elaborate manicures and clad in camouflage are drilling different firing positions, first aiming on their knees and then their stomaches. The gym where the women have gathered in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg near the Ural Mountains is some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) from the frontline in Ukraine. But the year-long conflict raging in the eastern region of Donetsk has injected new militaristic fervour in Russia and fears that the fight could come back home. Since Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine last February, state propaganda has gone into overdrive to boost a sense of pride in the Russian army. The surge in patriotic messaging has spurred some Russians to join military courses like the sessions in Yekaterinburg, led by veterans of the Ukraine offensive. (Photo by Anna YURIEVA / AFP) (Photo by ANNA YURIEVA/AFP via Getty Images)