Once prized fighters beneath the Tsars, Russia’s Cossack inhabitants was ostracised by authorities through the Soviet period. Under President Vladimir Putin, they’ve reintegrated into Russian society, appearing as a supplementary police power and restoring their navy standing on the entrance strains in Ukraine.
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20251215-putin-sends-cossak-warriors-to-the-front-line-ukraine