Russia forced to increase spending on occupation of Ukraine: Ukraine's Intelligence explains why
Illustrative photo: Russian soldier (Getty Images)
Russia has begun looking for ways to compensate for personnel losses during combat operations in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia has started using financial pressure, according to the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
As noted by the Defense Intelligence, Moscow is concerned that a decision on mobilization could escalate social tension and lead to unwanted protests in major cities.
Specifically, this year in Russia, Kremlin strategists circulated rumors that after the elections held on September 8, general mobilization would be immediately announced. This way, supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin were gauging the sentiments of the Russian population, and it appears that the dynamics were not particularly satisfying to the leaders of the aggressor state.
"So, the main factor that currently allows Russia to delay the decision on general mobilization remains financial," Defense Intelligence officials stated.
The intelligence agency believes that the constant increase in initial payments for signing a contract, which in some regions of Russia already reaches several million rubles, indicates that there are fewer and fewer willing individuals to risk their lives in the ranks of the occupation army.
Moreover, Russians are facing another problem — the lack of so-called "ideological" soldiers among the masses. As a result, recruitment centers are issuing special propaganda manuals to new recruits of the Russian army.
These manuals contain traditional clichés about the "sly West and NATO bloc," "denazification," "one nation," and other propaganda nonsense about "defending Russia" during the war in Ukraine.
Anti-mobilization protests in Russia
The last time Russia announced mobilization was in September 2022. However, this sparked discontent among Russians.
In particular, in January, one of the largest protests since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine took place in Bashkiria. People protested to defend a local activist who had been detained by the authorities and accused of "inciting inter-ethnic hatred."
Another rally occurred on February 3 in Moscow, where the wives of mobilized men organized a protest. The protests were held to mark 500 days since the partial mobilization announced by Putin in September 2022.
Subsequently, the protests re-emerged in Moscow and began to gain momentum in other cities across Russia.
