30,000 Russians per month join the military, says Ukrainian intelligence
Russians are joining the military at rates of up to 30,000 per month, mostly due to the military’s comparatively high salaries, Ukrainian intelligence deputy chief, Vadym Skibitskyi, said in an interview with Ukrainian news outlet RBC-Ukraine published on Jan. 15.
"Russians have a motivation to join the army – actually, it's a salary, especially in crisis and depressive regions, where either salary is low or no job can be found at all,” Skibitskyi said.
Read also: Number of Russian soldiers deserting nearly double since summer
"But the Russians clearly define that a day of hostilities means plus eight thousand rubles ($90 USD) to the salary. This is approximately 220-250 thousand rubles ($2,500 – 2,800 USD) per month in absolute numbers concerning those who are directly involved in combat operations on the front line,"
Most of these new recruits are sent by the Russians to the front to replenish the losses and to form reserve regiments, he noted, adding that recruitment rates are not reaching the levels seen in October-December 2022.
Read also: Russia has lost 90% of its initial invasion force in Ukraine — report
The Kremlin may launch a total mobilization following staged presidential elections in March 2024, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has said.
On Sep. 29, Putin signed a decree to conscript an additional 130,000 Russian citizens.
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