The Russian military is resorting to extreme measures to cover the heavy losses it is taking in Ukraine.
In almost 19 months of combat, Russian forces have lost approximately 300,000 men killed, wounded, or captured. With no end in sight, the Kremlin is looking to recruit men in every way possible to sustain its so-called special military operation.
Foreign Recruitment
The Russian Ministry of Defense has started recruiting men from neighboring countries to replenish its ranks.
Russian military recruiters focus their efforts in the Caucasus and Central Asia, with Armenia and Kazakhstan being two countries of particular interest. Russian military recruiters offer signing bonuses of more than $5,100 and monthly salaries of almost $2,000 to those interested. They are also offering Russian citizenship to those who agree to fight for Moscow in Ukraine. These efforts have met lukewarm success, despite Russian officials’ statements to the contrary.
But the Ministry has also turned to other, more coercive methods to fill its ranks.
“Uzbek migrant builders in Mariupol have reportedly had their passports confiscated upon arrival and been coerced to join the Russian military. There are at least six million migrants from Central Asia in Russia, which the Kremlin likely sees as potential recruits,” British Military Intelligence assessed in a recent estimate on the war.
It is clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his advisers are looking to avoid further mobilization programs. Considering the circumstances, the Kremlin has been largely effective in insulating the Russian population from the war in Ukraine. Beside a partial mobilization of reserves in September 2022, the Kremlin hasn’t called up any Russian citizens to fight and has also tried to ensure that Russian conscripts — the country has a national service — don’t deploy in Ukraine.
“Russia likely wishes to avoid further unpopular domestic mobilization measures in the run up to the 2024 Presidential elections. Exploiting foreign nationals allows the Kremlin to acquire additional personnel for its war effort in the face of mounting casualties,” British Military Intelligence added.
Without the easy option of the Wagner Group private military company and its tens of thousands of convicts turned soldiers, the Kremlin will have to become increasingly creative to generate enough forces to sustain its war.
Total Russian Losses in Ukraine
In addition to the personnel losses, Russian forces have lost tens of thousands of heavy weapons systems and vehicles. Indeed, the materiel casualties are so serious that the Russian Ministry of Defense has been forced to pull out of storage obsolete tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and artillery pieces. These older systems are easy prey for modern weapons.
In contrast, the Ukrainian military is using an increasing quantity of Western weapons systems that vastly increase a crew’s chances of survival.
A 19FortyFive Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and is pursuing a J.D. at Boston College Law School. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
