Russia plans to recruit nearly 250,000 more contract soldiers - Media
Photo: Russia plans to recruit more than 200 thousand people over the next 3 years (Russian media)
Russia plans to recruit at least 225,000 contract soldiers over the next three years, according to Important News.
The draft budget for 2025-2027 indicates that the Russian authorities have allocated 90 billion rubles for one-time payments for signing contracts with the Ministry of Defense, amounting to 30 billion rubles annually.
Currently, the federal one-time payment for signing a contract is 400,000 rubles.
If this payment remains unchanged, the allocated 90 billion rubles will be enough to recruit 225,000 contract soldiers over three years. However, it is worth noting that the 400,000 rubles is the amount set by Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 31, 2024. Previously it was 195,000 rubles.
If the payment for signing the contract is reduced back to 195,000 rubles, as it was earlier, it would allow for the recruitment of approximately 461,500 individuals.
The budgeted amount may increase, as the Russian government has already spent over 32 billion rubles on one-time payments to new contract soldiers in the first half of 2024, exceeding the budget allocation for the entire next year.
Mobilization in Russia
To increase the number of fighters, the Russian Ministry of Defense is also recruiting women from prisons to serve as assault troops and snipers. Recently, the State Duma allowed those convicted of rape to sign contracts for the war against Ukraine.
Moreover, Putin has legalized amnesty for all defendants who went to war.
