More than 230.000 soldiers have been recruited into the Russian army since the beginning of the year, former President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday, as Russia's offensive in Ukraine continues into its eighteenth month.
"From January 1 to August 3, more than 231.000 people were hired under the contract," Medvedev said during a televised meeting.
The former Russian president, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, reported in May that the army recruited 120.000 people at the time, reports N1.
"The task is to make service under the contract as attractive as possible in the future, because the Russian army needs recruits to lead the offensive in Ukraine," he pointed out.
He did not say how long the recruits' training will last before joining the frontline units, which have been trying to stop the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south and east of Ukraine since the beginning of June.
The recruitment campaign is carried out through social media and street advertisements, which promote military service and promise very attractive conditions for future soldiers.
In addition to salary and social rights, recruits "during military service" keep their civilian jobs, and any loans they may have are frozen, Medvedev said.
In September 2022, due to losses at the front, the Russian authorities had to resort to partial mobilization of the reserve force, whereby at least 300.000 people were mobilized, and tens of thousands fled abroad.
At the end of December 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu deemed it "necessary" to increase the number of Russian soldiers to one and a half million, of which "695.000 are under contract" - which is more than the 1,15 million that Vladimir Putin planned in August.
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