Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered, through a decree published on the government’s legal notices website and cited by the Russian news agency Interfax, the recruitment of 160,000 Russians aged between 18 and 30 during the period of April to July.
„Soldiers, sailors, sergeants, and non-commissioned officers whose mandatory military service has expired” will be released from military service, according to the decree.
The Russian army traditionally conducts recruitments twice a year, in spring and autumn.
During the autumn recruitment, which took place from October to December, 133,000 recruits were enrolled in the army for a one-year period as part of mandatory military service.
This is the largest spring recruitment in the past 14 years, writes RBK-Ukraine, including during the war:
- In the spring of 2022, 134,500 Russians were enrolled, and in the autumn 120,000.
- In 2023, 147,000 recruits were enlisted in the spring, and 130,000 in the autumn.
- In 2024, 150,000 individuals were sent to the army in the spring, and 133,000 in the autumn.
Russia suffers massive losses on the front
The Kremlin officially assures that recruits are not sent to war, but in reality, they are required to sign contracts, after which they are sent to the front. Russia is thus trying to compensate for significant losses suffered by the army on the front.
According to sources in Kiev cited by RBK, these military personnel reinforcements indicate the Kremlin's intention to continue the war, despite official statements declaring readiness to negotiate.
In January, Putin signed a law increasing the maximum recruitment age from 27 to 30 years.
The Russian press writes that since December, the Russian forces have increased to nearly 2.4 million people, of which 1.5 million are military personnel.
How many Russians may have died on the Ukrainian front
Russian forces have slowly gained ground in Ukraine over the past few years, but this comes at a price. The United Kingdom estimated in December, in line with data from the Ukrainian General Staff, losses of 768,000 among Russian forces since the beginning of the War in Ukraine.
The statistics do not specify whether these are deaths or injuries, but by convention, they include deaths, injuries, missing, and prisoners.
In November and December, the heaviest losses were recorded - a daily record of 2,030 Russian military personnel in November, the highest since the start of the Russian invasion - according to the Ukrainian General Staff.
In early December, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine had lost 43,000 military personnel on the battlefield since the beginning of the war.