Russia targets students from occupied territories with new war recruitment scheme
Photo: Russian military personnel (Getty Images)
The Kremlin is seeking new recruits among young people from temporarily occupied territories, using propaganda about money, status and the opportunity to continue their education while serving, according to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation.
According to the Center, Russian propaganda outlets are actively spreading the story of a young man from Donetsk who is supposedly attending university while also serving in the Russian military under a contract.
Such reports place particular emphasis on an alleged special contract arrangement for students. In this way, propaganda is attempting to persuade other young people to join the Russian military.
How Russia is luring young people
In such stories, military service in the Russian army is portrayed as an opportunity to earn money, gain status and receive social benefits. At the same time, the real risks of taking part in the war are pushed into the background.
The Center for Countering Disinformation emphasizes that Russian propaganda is using this approach to romanticize military service and create a false perception among young people about participating in the war.
The Kremlin is interested in recruiting new servicemembers amid the Russian army's heavy losses. The propaganda campaign is therefore also targeting young people living in temporarily occupied territories.
"The Kremlin is trying not only to impose a Russian identity on residents of the temporarily occupied territories, but also to use this population as a resource to continue the war," the Center said.
Russia is attempting to consolidate its occupation of Ukrainian territories not only through military means but also through administrative measures.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) plans to abolish border zones in parts of the Rostov and Voronezh regions bordering Ukraine's occupied territories.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry believes Moscow is attempting to erase the administrative boundary and create the appearance that the seized Ukrainian territories have been permanently "incorporated" into Russia.
