Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the recruitment of 160,000 new soldiers to reinforce the ranks of the Armed Forces between April and July. The draft is aimed at citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 who are subject to mandatory military service.
The recruitment process will begin this Tuesday and will continue until mid-April, affecting young people within the specified age range who are not part of the reserve, according to the presidential decree. To ensure the proper enrollment of new soldiers, Putin has instructed the government, regional authorities, and recruitment commissions to oversee the process.
According to official data, during the last recruitment period in the past fall, the Russian Armed Forces added 133,000 new personnel. In the previous year’s spring campaign, an additional 150,000 soldiers were enlisted.
Russia has suffered an unprecedented level of casualties in Ukraine since World War II. According to British intelligence services, citizens from less developed regions and ethnic minorities are playing a “disproportionate” role in the conflict, while recruitment in major cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg is significantly lower.
For British analysts, this disparity suggests that the Kremlin and the military high command “probably place less value on the lives” of certain segments of the population, according to a report published this Thursday by the UK Ministry of Defense.
Both London and Kyiv estimate that the Russian Armed Forces have suffered around 900,000 casualties since the invasion began more than three years ago. Of this total, between 200,000 and 250,000 are believed to be fatalities.
Moscow continues to prioritize its military objectives over the lives of its soldiers, and British intelligence believes the Kremlin is willing to “tolerate” a high number of losses as long as they do not affect public support for the war and can be replaced.
Mobilization in Russia has been a source of controversy since September 2022, when the Kremlin announced the recruitment of 300,000 men to bolster military operations in Ukraine. This decision led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of young Russians seeking to avoid conscription.
Additionally, media reports and human rights organizations have accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of carrying out an undeclared mobilization, focusing on recruiting professional soldiers, prisoners, and migrants.
Russia has also incorporated Asian soldiers into its ranks, particularly North Korean troops, according to accusations from authorities in Ukraine, South Korea, and the United States. These governments claim that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a contingent of 11,000 troops to Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a video this Tuesday showing the interrogation of one of the two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces in combat. Zelensky vowed to reveal “the whole truth” about what he described as Russia’s exploitation of these Asian soldiers.
