“Russian Army Already Recruited Nearly 120,000 Soldiers This Year” | War Ukraine and Russia

“Between January 1 and May 19, 117,400 people were drafted into the armed forces on a contractual basis and as part of our voluntary formations,” said Medvedev. The ex-president and current vice chairman of the Russian Security Council also praised the “continuous efforts” to increase the number of military personnel “in the framework of the instructions given by (Russian President, ed.) Vladimir Putin”.

The Russian army urgently needs additional fighters on the Ukrainian front lines. According to the British Ministry of Defense, Russia has already lost “between 175,000 and 200,000 soldiers” since the start of the war, with an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 killed.

In the run-up to the long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive, Moscow recently announced a new large-scale recruitment campaign. Although no official figures are known, Russian media sources say the army hopes to recruit at least 400,000 more volunteers. Russia would like to lure the men with attractive (financial) conditions.

In September, Russia staged the first “partial” mobilization of some 300,000 Russians, displacing tens of thousands of men.

In late December, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said it was “necessary” to increase the number of soldiers in the Russian army to 1.5 million, “including 695,000 under contract”.