Russia plans to recruit over 400,000 soldiers next year, Ukrainian intelligence chief says
Photo: Head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov (Getty Images)
The Russian regime has fulfilled its 2025 mobilization plan, recruiting 403,000 personnel into its army. Currently, Russia has set its 2026 mobilization target at 409,000 personnel, according to the head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov.
According to Budanov, Russia had already recruited 403,000 personnel by early December, meaning the enemy even exceeded its 2025 mobilization goals.
The main source of personnel for the Russian army is contract soldiers, who are enticed with large financial incentives. Russia's mobilization plan for 2026 is to recruit 409,000 personnel into the army. While challenges exist, Russia is simply increasing payments.
"Of course, there are problems. That's why they periodically raise the level of one-time payments: it varies by region, but the amounts are significant. This is how they attract people to the army," Budanov summarized.
According to British intelligence, Russia continues to fight Ukraine primarily with ethnic minorities from poor regions, while the elite is virtually not involved in the fighting. London estimates that in 2025, Russian losses exceeded 400,000 killed and wounded.
As early as October, it became known that Russia was attempting to recruit new contract soldiers using a promotional approach - if a contract was signed by a certain date, the payment would be higher.
Since August 2025, for the first time since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia sharply changed the size of one-time payments to contract soldiers. In some regions, payments were almost halved, while in others, they were increased. This occurred against the backdrop of a massive Russian budget deficit.
