In order to replace the estimated 75,000 soldiers who have been killed or injured since the invasion of Ukraine started, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to recruit an additional 137,000 men.
In order to increase the size of the armed forces to 2.39 million troops, including more than 1.15 million soldiers, Putin signed the presidential decree.
The Kremlin’s order did not specify how the military would raise its strength—by calling in more conscripts, recruiting more volunteers, or doing both at once.
However, the directive, which represents the first official enlargement of the Russian army since 2014, is an indication of the terrible casualties suffered by Russian forces at the hands of Ukrainian soldiers.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine six months ago, an estimated 75,000 Russian servicemen have been killed or wounded, forcing Putin to respond and increase the number of troops.
While Russia’s invasion continues to cost lives, the Kremlin has demanded that only voluntary contract troops participate in the conflict instead of calling for a widespread mobilisation, which would be unpopular with Putin.
Russia has been recruiting more volunteers by giving enlistment incentives of around £4,000, hiring private military contractors, and even granting amnesty to certain inmates in return for a tour of military service in an attempt to increase the number of soldiers.
Additionally, there are allegations that hundreds of Russian troops are attempting to resign from the military and refuse to engage in combat.
According to Alexei Tabalov, a lawyer who oversees the Conscript’s School legal aid organisation, “we are seeing a tremendous outflow of individuals who want to escape the combat zone — those who have been serving for a long time and others who have just recently signed a contract.”
Although the Russian Defense Ministry disputes the existence of any “mobilisation initiatives,” it seems that the government is making every effort to increase recruitment.
This is The Job, which exhorts men to join the professional army, is proclaimed on billboards and in-transit advertisements in different locations. In other towns, like one in Siberia where a half marathon was held in May, authorities have set up mobile recruitment centres.
‘Volunteer battalions’ are being organised by regional governments and advertised on state television. At least 40 such organisations were identified by the business newspaper Kommersant, with representatives offering volunteers monthly salary ranging from the equivalent of £1,821 to roughly £4,659, plus incentives.
Earlier this month, the British military reported that Russia had created the 3rd Army Corps, a sizable new combat force, from “volunteer battalions,” looking for individuals up to 50 years old with just a middle-school education and promising “lucrative monetary incentives” if they are sent to Ukraine.
Although these stories cannot be independently confirmed, concerns are now making their way into the media that some people aren’t receiving their promised compensation.
According to Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the prisoner rights organisation Gulagu.net, who cited contacts his organisation has made with prisoners and their families, recruiting of convicts has been taking place in as many as seven districts in recent weeks.
This is not the first time that authorities have used such a strategy; during World War II, the Soviet Union created “prisoner battalions.”
Russia is not the only country either. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, made an amnesty guarantee to prisoners of war who volunteered to fight early in the conflict, however it is unclear whether anything came of it.
All Russian males between the ages of 18 and 27 are required to serve in the military for one year, however many are excused from the conscription due to ill health or deferments given to college students. In Moscow and other large cities, a disproportionately high percentage of males choose to forego the conscription.
According to the think tank Institute for the Study of War, “the Kremlin is probably trying to conceal Moscow City inhabitants from the military recruiting effort, which may lead to certain social conflicts.”
Twice a year, in the spring and the autumn, the Russian military gathers up potential recruits. During the most recent spring draught, Putin authorised the conscription of 134,500 conscripts.
In an effort to modernise and enhance the preparedness of the army, the Kremlin has placed a strong focus on raising the proportion of voluntary contract troops.
The Russian military employed almost 400,000 contract soldiers, including 147,000 in the ground forces, when the Kremlin launched troops into Ukraine.
Force experts have observed that if the fight in Ukraine carries on, such numbers may be obviously inadequate to support the operations in Ukraine, which has stated a goal of establishing a military with a million members.