In Russia, there is a rare defiance to President Putin and his call to bring 300,000 more troops into his army for the war in Ukraine. Thousands of Russians are forced to choose between going to prison and going to war after Putin amended the country’s criminal code declaring desertion or failure to appear for military service will be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. According to an independent monitor, more than 700 people were arrested across 32 cities. This comes on the second day of what the west has called a sham referendum in the occupied areas of Ukraine, with armed soldiers monitoring ballot boxes. » Subscribe to NBC News: http://nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBC » Watch more NBC video: http://bit.ly/MoreNBCNews NBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and engaging news stories. NBC News Digital features NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, TODAY.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Dateline, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. We deliver the best in breaking news, live video coverage, original journalism and segments from your favorite NBC News Shows. Connect with NBC News Online! NBC News App: https://apps.nbcnews.com/mobile Breaking News Alerts: https://link.nbcnews.com/join/5cj/breaking-news-signup?cid=sm_npd_nn_yt_bn-clip_190621 Visit NBCNews.Com: http://nbcnews.to/ReadNBC Find NBC News on Facebook: http://nbcnews.to/LikeNBC Follow NBC News on Twitter: http://nbcnews.to/FollowNBC Follow NBC News on Instagram: http://nbcnews.to/InstaNBC #Russia #Ukraine #World