According to this article from earlier this month, they basically are just cannon fodder: https://www.reuters.com/world/conscripts-sent-fight-by-pro-russia-donb

According to this article from earlier this month, they basically are just cannon fodder: https://www.reuters.com/world/conscripts-sent-fight-by-pro-russia-donbas-get-little-training-old-rifles-poor-2022-04-04/ https://www.reuters.com/world/conscripts-sent-fight-by-pro-r... > Several Donbas draftees have been issued with a rifle called a Mosin, which was developed in the late 19th century and went out of production decades ago, according to three people who saw conscripts from the separatist region using the weapon. Images shared on social media, that Reuters has not been able to verify independently, also showed Donbas fighters with Mosin rifle > ... Some Donbas conscripts were given the highly dangerous mission of drawing enemy fire onto themselves so other units could identify the Ukrainian positions and bomb them, according to one of the sources and video testimony from a prisoner of war published by Ukrainian forces.