Putin orders army to recruit 137,000 troops after losing estimated 75,000 since Ukraine invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to recruit another 137,000 troops to replace the estimated 75,000 soldiers who have been killed or wounded since the invasion of Ukraine began.

Putin signed the presidential decree which seeks to boost the number of armed forces’ personnel to 2.39 million, including more than 1.15 million soldiers.

The Kremlin’s decree did not explain whether the military will increase its ranks by drafting a larger number of conscripts, increasing the number of volunteer soldiers or using a combination of both. 

But the decree, which marks the first formal increase to Russia’s army since 2014, signifies the devastating losses inflicted on Russian troops by Ukrainian soldiers.

Putin has been forced to react and boost the number of troops because an estimated 75,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since the Ukraine war began six months ago.

As Russia continues to suffer losses in its invasion, the Kremlin has refused to announce a broad mobilisation – a move that would prove unpopular for Putin – and insisted that only volunteer contract soldiers take part in the war.

Putin signed the presidential decree which seeks to boost the number of armed forces’ personnel to 2.39 million, including more than 1.15 million soldiers

In an effort to bolster the number of troops, Russia has been attracting more volunteers with the promise of enlistment bonuses of around £4,000, engaging private military contractors and even offering amnesty to some prisoners in exchange for a tour of military duty.

This also is happening amid reports that hundreds of Russian soldiers are refusing to fight and trying to quit the military.

‘We’re seeing a huge outflow of people who want to leave the war zone — those who have been serving for a long time and those who have signed a contract just recently,’ said Alexei Tabalov, a lawyer who runs the Conscript’s School legal aid group.

Although the Russian Defense Ministry denies that any ‘mobilisation activities’ are taking place, authorities seem to be pulling out all the stops to bolster enlistment.

Billboards and public transit ads in various regions proclaim, ‘This is The Job,’ urging men to join the professional army. Authorities have set up mobile recruiting centers in some cities, including one at the site of a half marathon in Siberia in May.

Regional administrations are forming ‘volunteer battalions’ that are promoted on state television. The business daily Kommersant counted at least 40 such entities in 20 regions, with officials promising volunteers monthly salaries ranging from the equivalent of £1,821 to nearly £4,659, plus plus bonuses.

The British military said earlier this month that Russia had formed a major new ground force called the 3rd Army Corps from ‘volunteer battalions,’ seeking men up to age 50 and requiring only a middle-school education, while offering ‘lucrative cash bonuses’ once they are deployed to Ukraine. 

Putin has been forced to react and boost the number of troops because an estimated 75,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since the Ukraine war began six months ago. Pictured: Russian soldiers in training exercises 

But complaints also are surfacing in the media that some aren’t getting their promised payments, although those reports can’t be independently verified.  

The recruitment of prisoners has been going on in recent weeks in as many as seven regions, said Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the Gulagu.net prisoner rights group, citing inmates and their relatives that his group had contacted.

It’s not the first time that authorities have used such a tactic, with the Soviet Union employing “prisoner battalions” during World War II.

Nor is Russia alone. Early in the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised amnesty to military veterans behind bars if they volunteered to fight, although it remains unclear if anything came out of it.

All Russian men aged 18-27 must serve one year in the military, but a large share avoid the draft for health reasons or deferments granted to university students. The share of men who avoid the draft is particularly big in Moscow and other major cities.

‘The Kremlin is likely attempting to shield Moscow City residents from the military recruitment campaign, which may lead to some social tensions,’ said the think tank  Institute for the Study of War.

The Russian military rounds up draftees twice a year, during the spring and in the fall. Putin ordered the drafting of 134,500 conscripts during the latest spring draft.

In recent years, the Kremlin has emphasised increasing the share of volunteer contract soldiers as it sought to modernise the army and improve its readiness.

Before the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine, the Russian military had over 400,000 contract soldiers, including 147,000 in the ground forces.

Military observers have noted that if the campaign in Ukraine drags on, those numbers could be clearly insufficient to sustain the operations in Ukraine, which has declared a goal of forming a million-strong military.