Golub is the head of the Soldiers’ Mothers Committee, an NGO advocating for soldiers’ rights that has become the main contact point for the worried relatives of Russian soldiers.

“See, I told you,” Golub shrugged, picking up another call during a conversation in her office in a residential area in north-east Moscow.

“This just keeps going and going. Everyone is very busy, we constantly receive people, get requests. We represent the interests of families in court and bring their concerns to the authorities,” Golub said.