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Russia is looking for new soldiers.
ImageUkrainian soldiers recovering parts of a Russian armored vehicle. The British Army recently put the number of Russian dead at 25,000.Credit... Daniel Berehulak for the New York Times
Russia desperate for recruits for its war in Ukraine
Russian forces need new soldiers. Already, the government is using what some analysts call “stealth mobilization” to bring in new recruits without resorting to a politically risky national project. "Russia has a recruitment and mobilization problem," said Russia analyst Kamil Galeev. “He's basically desperate to get more men by any means possible. , mercenaries and militarized National Guard units to wage war. Volunteers are promised big cash incentives. But analysts have raised doubts about how long Russia will be able to maintain its offensive in Ukraine without general mobilization.
For now, avoiding conscription for grown men allows the Kremlin to maintain the fiction that the war is a limited "special military operation", while minimizing the risk of the kind of public backlash that brought about the end of previous Russian military debacles, such as the one in Afghanistan and the first Chechen war.
Casualties: The number of dead and wounded on the battlefield is a closely guarded secret on both sides. The British Army recently put the Russian dead at 25,000, with tens of thousands more injured, out of an invasion force of 300,000, including support units.

World Jul 11, 2022 0 115 Add to Reading List

Russia is looking for new soldiers.

Ukrainian soldiers recover parts from a Russian armored vehicle. The British military recently put the Russian death toll at 25,000.

Russia desperate for recruits for its war in Ukraine

Russian forces need new soldiers. Already, the government is using what some analysts call “stealth mobilization” to bring in new recruits without resorting to a politically risky national project. "Russia has a recruitment and mobilization problem," said Russia analyst Kamil Galeev. “He's basically desperate to get more men by any means possible. , mercenaries and militarized National Guard units to wage war. Volunteers are promised big cash incentives. But analysts have raised doubts about how long Russia will be able to maintain its offensive in Ukraine without general mobilization.

For now, avoiding conscription for grown men allows the Kremlin to maintain the fiction that the war is a limited "special military operation", while minimizing the risk of the kind of public backlash that brought about the end of previous Russian military debacles, such as the one in Afghanistan and the first Chechen war.

Casualties: The number of dead and wounded on the battlefield is a closely guarded secret on both sides. The British Army recently put the Russian dead at 25,000, with tens of thousands more injured, out of an invasion force of 300,000, including support units.