Russia Plans to Recruit 400,000 Contract Soldiers

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to add 400,000 contract soldiers to the Army, according to a March 14 report by media company Radio Svodoba. The recruitment campaign is scheduled to start April 1.

The report indicates that the main part of the work will be carried out by military enlistment officers, and governors will oversee the implementation of the plan. In local areas such as the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions, posts and advertisements will be published to encourage recruitment in the military. These regions are expected to obtain 10,000 signatures by the end of the year.

In January, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a goal to increase the number of Russian troops from 1.15 to 1.5 million within three years. To make these troops more professional, 695,000 should be contract servicemen. He specified that by the end of 2023, at least 521,000 contract soldiers should be in service.

To make recruitment more appealing, the Defense Ministry is preparing a bill to increase the social security of these contract soldiers and their families. Authorities in the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets districts are also discussing financial incentives to increase the number of soldiers that will sign up.

Possible options for additional financing in the form of bonuses are being developed, such as the 300,000 rubles that were paid to those mobilized to the Eastern Military District.
—Yamalo-Nenets government official

‘Prince of Russia’ determined to win: Despite Russia’s unexpectedly high losses, President Vladimir Putin is more determined than ever to conquer Ukraine. Bible prophecy shows that Russia’s brutality in Ukraine will only intensify because of Putin’s role as the “prince of Russia.” In his booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia,’ Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry writes that Ukraine is “the linchpin of [Putin’s] goal of a renewed imperial Russia!”

To learn more, read “Putin Can’t Afford to Lose in Ukraine.”