Putin's thug army: Russia deploys soccer hooligans to Ukraine as war drags on

Russian President Vladimir Putin originally deployed Chechen mercenaries and prisoners but now appears to be deploying soccer thugs he tried to ban from stadiums ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his regime view the outcome of this war as existential for Russia and for themselves personally," she added.  Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news. 

News broke last month that Putin had looked to recruit extremist Russian football fans to fight in Ukraine as part of the 106th Airborne Division and the Vostok battalion, The Daily Mail reported.